Something someone once told me that has stuck with me for a while is a John Locke quote: A child is born like a blank slate and its later behavior is shaped by experience. Which means you form your opinions based on your upbringing or life experiences. I have always found it so interesting how one little thing can alter someone’s life. Kind of what the butterfly effect is like. I feel like ever since 2016/ 2017 social media has become a lot more toxic. What affects the data we receive online is the content we look at or are interested in. There are a lot of people out there who want to live in an echo chamber on social media where they only hear from people who agree with them or share similar viewpoints. You can see a lot of this with people’s political opinions. But it’s leaked into fandom too, you can’t have civil discussions anymore online or say something is only okay it is either bad or good no in between. You also have some sense of control over what data you receive online.
Yes, I understand why the block button is a thing but some people overuse it. They use it to help filter the data they receive online but even without that the algorithms are made to detect what data you are more interested in. Then those ads you get are based around the same with the sites you go to visit. But this can go all the way back to your up bringing most of the time children share the same political viewpoints as their parents so what data they search for is usually based around that. Like if you grew up in a right leaning household odds are that’s the way you lean politically the same can go for the other side. But now a days it’s more than just politics, it’s leaked into everything. This is something everyone does, even me, but some people do it more than others and are more extreme about blocking people with different viewpoints which then sends messages to the algorithm to feed you certain data. Then to stop feeding you other data. Heck even if you and a friend have similar interests, no one is one hundred percent alike, so the algorithms are going to be different.
Something that is popular on social media is sending friends and family members funny or interesting posts or news stories you find on social media which also influences the data you receive online. But I personally love the data I receive online because it’s a good mix of news from sources I personally find reliable but it also gives me a mix of new sources but it isn’t just for news it is also for clips or posts I find funny. I think the reason why people like living in bubbles is because people find it scary to try new things or they’re not that smart, which means they don’t know how to debate or talk to someone with a different opinion.
