Information and Digital Society
Reflections
The digital society course really challenged me in the way that it guides me to see the world in a different way. Although I was familiar with internet and digital technology but I haven’t seen it in an integrated way and been fully aware that we are already in a digital world. I also understand the responsibility that individuals need to take in order to be a qualified digital citizen and the importance of communicating online in a responsible way with fully respect to the works of others. I know how digital technology is changing us and our environment. The cities around us are becoming smart cities. Pecha Kucha presentation is really attractive and interesting. My public speaking skills improved and I learned how to communicate with others more efficiently. The field trip to DigiLab also inspired me a lot and showed me the power of innovation. The technologies once existed only in science fiction are now becoming true.
After the course, digital society implies and means a lot to me. Implications of living in a digital world can be different for different people. For me, living in a digital society implies that we are in a world with enormous information and data becomes one of the most important asset. Every individual is the creator, receiver and transmitter of the information. Living in a digital world also implies that, as digital citizens, it is our responsibility to keep the information accurate and comprehensive, because every message we shared will influence countless people potentially. However, biased information are spread all the time, especially by digital media. We need to know how to identify them and think critically about what we received. It is impossible to discuss all the aspects of the digital society in one blog. I will focus on information bias and digital media and what digital citizens should do. The research method and suggestions can also be used in other aspects of digital society.
Information Bias and Digital Media
With the developing of Digital Technology, Internet, Mobile Intelligent Terminal, and IoT, individuals can access to information faster and easier than ever before and they are also playing an active part in dissemination of information. However, every coin has two sides, the information received are not always 100% true, and the biased information is amplified in the digital world, which brings severe problems. We are influenced by biased information and intentionally or unintentionally we also become the communicators of the biased information. Individuals need to handle the information ethically and the governments need to monitor and make regulations about it.
Digital media is one of the most important parts of the digital world and also the main source of biased information, which influences the decisions that individuals make. The paper The problem of media bias written by me in 2015 discussed the social media bias in details. We are going to extend the research and apply the theories in the field of digital media in the digital society.
See the picture in the link below and you will have an intuitive understanding of digital media bias:
http://obviousmag.org/archives/uploads/2008/ZZ5DCF7D66.jpg
Here we recall some academic results and definitions summarised by my paper in 2015:
1. Gentzkow (2005) defines media bias as slanting information including selective omission, choice of words, and varying credibility ascribed to the primary source.
2. Gentzkow (2005) indicates that the concerns about the ability of the market to deliver reliable information to the public are rising with the falling trust in the news media.
3. Baron (2006) states that a survey by the American Society of Newspaper Editors reveals that 78% of the public believes there is bias in the news report. He also states that a survey of journalists in five western countries shows that bias is present in their reporting obviously.
4. Niven (2003) also supports media bias exists widely by his study of the relationship between the newspaper and congressional parties.
These theories and researches largely focus on newspapers and TV programs. In the traditional world, the effects of media bias are limited. Individuals get the biased information from the newspapers or TV and spread them by word. But in the digital world, the effect is amplified and the problem is severer, because the new technology allows the individuals more engaged in information receiving and transmitting. The information in the digital media will be transmitted tens of thousands of times within few minutes by individuals using Twitter and Facebook. The massive transmission also increases the likelihood of the information being accepted by other individuals. The existence of media bias which are spreading the biased information deepens the conflicts and misapprehensions among the public. The widely existed digital media bias may lead to falling trust in society.
Types of Digital Media Bias and How to Identify Them
Recall the discussion in my paper in 2015, with comments on digital society.
1. Slanting information through selective omission. Digital media usually don’t show the bias directly, they just avoid some of the positive news of the unfavorable subject and report more on the favorable one. For example, statistic research did by Berry (2013) shows that Labour politicians were featured over 50% less often than Conservative ones (15 vs 24) on the BBC News about regional hot issues. Digital media show their favor in this manner, and individuals need to handle the news critically.
2. Slanting news by the choice of words. Reporters and editors tend to like some specific words, and avoid another words. For example, when searching the key word Palestinian in the Israeli right-wing media Maariv, you can find few relevant news. Some of the news concerning West Bank and Gaza are categorized as “Inside Israel”. People who relied heavily on this media may not be fully aware of the existence of the Palestinian and even deepen their misunderstanding.
3. Varying credibility ascribed to the primary source.
Source credibility means: “the acceptance of the receiver to a message is affected by the negative or positive characteristics of the transmitter, and these characteristics do not have a direct connection with the content of the message.”
Check the following links for more information:
Digital media cannot always express their preference manifestly, especially for some sensitive topics (eg. religious and race) and they manipulate the news and express their bias metaphorically by employing the principle of source credibility. Editors group the unfavourable topics with negative video and pictures and provide an outer environment to the receiver. For example, when it comes to the poor conditions of Palestinians trapped by Israeli in the West Bank, Maariv always report the news along with terrorist attacks in other countries, even if they are irrelevant to the news in the West Bank.
How to be Critical Facing Digital Media Bias
1. Eliminating prejudice
Do not think the information is 100% unbiased because it meets what you already know and vice versa.
2. Receiving information from multiple channels
Do not relay on only one resource and listen to the opposition party. For example, if you want to know something about Middle East, watch not only CNN but also ALJAZEERA at the same time.
3. Using digital technology
More often, the data is too big for individuals to check artificially. Many scientific tools using advanced data science and digital technology have been developed to help us. For example, Emergent is a real-time online rumor checker developed by Craig Silverman. It is part of a research project of Columbia University that focuses on how unverified information and rumors are reported in the digital media. You can view a list of rumors being tracked on the homepage, along with their current claim state and Statistical data.
