For decades, Americans aged 18 to 29 have had the lowest voter turnout of any age group. There are a multitude of reasons for this, from potential voters being too busy to voting being inaccessible, but arguably the most significant reason is a lack of interest. For teenagers, especially, voting seems years away and learning about elections or government seems worthless. 

With political tensions at an all-time high, an election in progress, and a multitude of human rights campaigns and movements taking place, more young people feel it is exceedingly important to educate themselves. However, since this education and activism are largely taking place on social media and the Internet, many teenagers are finding themselves caught up in online echo chambers, or “filter bubbles”. 

The echo chamber technique is a method for recommending content through social media search engines that confirm and reinforce an individual’s beliefs. When you search for something online or view a certain type of post on social media, your data, or “cookies”, are saved and used to bring you targeted posts, sites, and advertisements that are likely to cater to your interests. While Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are useful for sharing stories and experiences, these social media platforms have also created a growing problem of spreading misinformation. In a groundbreaking study, researchers found that false stories on Twitter can spread six times faster than the truth. 

It’s a lot harder to take a step back from social media, especially in the midst of an isolating pandemic, because we want to know what people in our community are thinking. The amount of and rate at which information spreads makes it difficult to control what we come across, making filter bubbles more challenging to escape. 

The echo chamber effect among AHS students:

Although young people are likely to lean more liberal than older generations, not everyone at AHS shares the same political views, and certain topics have led to disputes. This can be seen as a reflection of our country, which becomes more divided by the minute with echo chambers perpetuating one-sided or out-of-context material—material that further convinces people their opinion is exclusively correct and the other side is wrong. In a poll by the Public Religion Research Institute, 74% of participants felt the country was divided, with 91% of Democrats and 96% of Republicans agreeing with that statement. These statistics reveal that more and more people are failing to understand that politics aren’t black and white. Whether we like it or not, our circumstances influence our beliefs, and the echo chamber effect has aided in bringing division to an extreme. 

Although it takes two to tango, it takes many to make a flash mob. This is a pretty large flash mob, and there is no single source of blame. The echo chamber is misinforming American voters, many of which are youth on social media, and must be put to an end.

What can we do to prevent ourselves from getting caught in an echo chamber and become more informed:

One of the best ways to prevent yourself from becoming trapped in a filter bubble is to download an extension that will prevent search engines from storing your data. A useful Google extension called “Don’t add custom search engines” does exactly this by blocking Google from creating limited search engines that adjust search results. Another option is to use a private search engine. According to comparitech.com, the top seven private search engines are DuckDuckGo, MetaGer, Qwant, Mojeek, Searx, Startpage, and Swisscows. 

Along with switching search engines, consider switching from partisan to bipartisan or facts-based news providers. To reference how biased or credible certain sites are, you can reference a media bias chart, which rates the severity of political bias as well as their credibility, ranging from “trustworthy” to “fake”. Some news sources that fall right in the middle of the spectrum, with little to no bias, and score highly on credibility include: Associated Press, Reuters, C-SPAN, and ABC News. 

As for the content you see from your fellow peers, we suggest researching information you feel may be untrue or taken out of context. Some social media sites have implemented “false information” warnings, which allow users to click a link that leads them to a fact-checker. These warnings are opportunities to seek out true facts, using unbiased or bipartisan news sources. Another idea would be to follow and watch people who have opposing beliefs. 

This topic is covered further in The Social Dilemma, a Netflix documentary that delves deeper into the world of echo chambers and the dangers of social media. The documentary extensively covers how our technology holds more influence than most would expect, and the consequences that brings. More than anything, the interviews with current and former powerful social media creators, and what they have to say on the topic, will convince you of how society is growing increasingly powerless.

Remember why becoming informed is important. For some, it’s out of necessity, as their rights may be in jeopardy. For those of us who don’t have to watch our rights debated, it’s a privilege to become informed from a distance. Becoming educated about politics, and eventually voting, cannot be rooted in selfishness or a desire for kudos.

It’s time to regain control and prevent ourselves from becoming misinformed. 

Graphic courtesy of FOUND.CO.UK