social media – 21st Century Citizenship

If You Don’t Know, We create Our Own Filter Bubble

According to Eli Pariser, nowadays the Internet has formed a filter bubble for us, which blocks us from receiving information that contains various perspectives. Nevertheless, I have a different opinion than Pariser, I think we make the filter bubble by ourself.

Praiser gives an example that he assigns two of his friends to type the same keyword in google, yet these two people get different results from each other. He suggests that the search engine automatically eliminates some information, in other word, it controls the flow of the information. Praiser mentions his concern on people only getting the information that they would agree upon. However, from my point of view, the search engine is just doing its job right. In order to call it a “smart search engine”, we would expect the search engine to provide information that we are interested in.

Among the thousands of researches we have done, we always choose the ones that either best interest us or ones we consider as the most useful; therefore, slowly our own laptop learns and memorizes our interests. Because the purpose of a “smart” search engine is to serve the user better, the Internet will edit out some information automatically based on the last research we have done. If we change to a brand new laptop, I believe the links pop up would be the ones get visited most often from the other users. Just like this, when we are looking up something that we know nothing about, we can always began with the information that the majority of people would consider helpful.

Moreover, instead of blaming the Internet for controlling the flow of information, we could have change they way we pose the keywords. Certainly I state that the search engine is smart, yet the keywords we put in the search bar also affect the results we get. I remember Dr. O provided an example that the supporters for Hillary Clinton thought she could win because of the information they saw were mostly tend to her side. But couldn’t those supporters spend some time to do research on both sides? From my perspective, supporters for Hillary Clinton would want to learn more news about how she won more popularity, which leads them purposely to ignore news about Donald Trump—or if they see news that praises Trump, they may choose to block that website or shake their heads thinking that was fake news. Gradually, the Internet would only show news these supporters would like to see, and no wonder they feel surprised when the final result of election came out.

In all, I believe the Internet does not control the flow of information; instead, we created out own bubble—information is always there, the Internet is just trying to serve us better, makes it easier for us to find out the information we tend to look at. According example in the lecture that because Praiser tend to click on the links shared by his liberal friends on Facebook more often, slowly Facebook eliminates the links shared by his conservative friends, I personally indicate that Praiser could have go in to his conservative friends’ page and then read those links if he really wish to—the information does not go away, it is Praiser’s frequent choices on liberal links lead to the disappearance of the other links. Therefore, I believe every person has a different filter bubble created on their own, and there is no reason for us to blame the Internet when we make our own choices on what too see what to not see.

Image from Medium

The Traps of Filter Bubbles

According to Eli Praiser’s Filter Bubble theory, the social medias itselves selects the categories of information on the internet for the viewers, and create an environment on what the viewers more interested in. However, Eli does not agree with the these personalising on the internet, since the internet only gives what it thinks we want to see, but not necessary what we need to see. I agree with this point of view.
Internet is a way for people to explore and find out the information all over the world. This ability gives people different points of view from all around the world, which put different contexts into the discussion. During this process, it helps people to have more and more details about the informations, and can reach the news with more comprehensive opinions. The environment with the conflict between opinions can help to develop the insight of the problems, which help to create more suggestions that helps to solve, or say, balance, the social problems we are now facing, such as conflict between politics and different foreign policy. However, when the internet closes down the options for us, we got only the information that we view more, and we can not realize it, since we can not tell what actually changed in the web. Although we are still viewing the same social medias, what we are viewing changed already, and this can cause a large problem. For example, a viewer is usually in the middle between democrats and republicans, he views balancedly between the information and news between these two groups. However, one day he found a really interesting democratic article, so he used a lot of time on reading it, and opened several more pages about the article. Then the internet records that he used more time on democrats than on republican that day, so they change his viewing information to more democratic information. In the end, this viewer becomes a democratic because the change in content of what he is viewing by the internet. This example shows that the internet-create filter bubbles are not available for people, since a lot of people who have neutral opinion can be lead to one side of the opinion.
On the other hand, the filter bubble created by internet can influence people’s life by blocking them from what they are not agree with. Imagine there is only a web page that contains all the opinions and comments that the viewer agrees to, the viewer can not know what others opinions are, then, within an environment with just agreements, the viewer can become more and more close to oneself’s opinion, and become aggressive towards other kinds of opinion that are not in the same route with the viewer. This can be a huge problem for online discussions, that it may become quarrels because people would not accept other opinions.
Finally, Eli raised a great opinion that internet helps to build democracy. However, I do not think the personalized website should be apart of it; In fact, it is the opposite of democracy. People got “blocked” from the information they actually need, instead, they got what they are “interested” in, but in the end, nothing necessary. In this way, people actually can not connect themselves to the world.
What people need are not design-for-one-only web page, they need to know all the information to have comparison, which makes it more easier to view the world and build self opinions. The filter bubbles are not helping people in viewing internet, since people can not get informations when they actually want to see things with details. Internet can never predict what a viewer really want to view, because occasion happens, and then people start to getting things from the filter bubbles from internet. People should have their own filter bubbles, created one will never meet the requirements of changing opinions of people surfing on internet.

Becoming a Citizen

One can be a technically be a citizen, but if they do not practice their duties, are they really a citizen? Government taught me not only the foundations of our government system, but also how to understand, manipulate, and follow it. The thing I found most interesting was the election process. Honestly, I didn’t know anything about the electoral college before taking the government course. Knowing how the American government system works is the first step in becoming an active, and true citizen. Furthermore, knowing how to find and understand information is what makes an active citizen unique. Understanding the aspects of government is not small; there are many different components to it, but with the use of new information mediums, it is a reasonable task. The use of internet allows access to an abundance of information and must be utilized by an active citizen.

Elections represent the founding spirit and beliefs America abides by, and are arguably the most significant facets of our society. To begin, when looking at the electoral college, I was surprised to find a vote really isn’t a direct vote for the president. At the same time, votes are the solely the most important part of a democracy, and passively sitting back defeats and purpose of the system. Understanding what one’s vote is actually doing, as well as the power behind it is what makes a true citizen. The interactive part of our course where we made predictions on the outcome of the 2012 election was especially interesting. Looking at all the different information at hand, and then coming up with conclusions was really helpful in understanding what exactly was going on. It was also exciting on the election day to see who was wrong or right (my predictions were correct as usual). With all the excitement wrapped up in that, the use of technology was a refreshing outlet for all thoughts and opinions. Most teachers neglect to follow the technological world, and the integration of Twitter was exceptional. As a student, I was exposed to endless viewpoints from real people, and as a citizen I was able to conclude rational things based on the information at hand.

The word refreshing describes that technology is not used enough in the classroom. There is quite literally endless amounts of knowledge, and information provided though this medium. Technology adds fuel to the engine that is a student’s brain. When they think that they are doing something just for a grade, the ethics are not as enthusiastic. The internet backs assignments with reason and cause because of an audience. Using the internet as a medium also allows group collaboration between peers, and even outside sources. This is a valuable asset to current learning. I learned not only how to access the internet and manipulate for my on benefit, but also how to collaborate and gain new perspectives. All this information is necessary for a citizen to participate properly in government.

Participation in voting, although increasing, is below 70%
American citizens need to be more active and understand their role

After understanding where to find the information, as well as learn all the facts, a citizen must understand the importance of using these facts, and the role they play in society. The Presidential elections is an obvious example of the necessity a citizen plays, but is only one of many. Understanding votes is easy, but there so many other ways to get involved in elections. The basis of getting involved in elections is through the pathways of actions (court, grassroot-mobilization, cultural change, lobbying, elections). These are the main seeds which have endless potential for growth. Elections are one of the pathways for a citizen to get involved. Deciding who to vote for is the first main issue a citizen faces. Grassroot Mobilization is a way to draw attention to a candidate. In addition to all the other pathways in government, I learned that a citizen must take an active role using pathways to become an avid voter. Voting is only a start to getting involved in elections, there are many other aspects a person can get involved in, especially in media and internet. Insight on how elections work is just one example of the importance of a citizen. The fundamental of American government is the citizen, and knowing one’s value is key.

Overall, the use of internet was the most unique, and boundless part of the course. Through it I rediscovered a new area of knowledge, and interaction. It has helped me become a well rounded citizen, and gave insight to information I didn’t understand before. Taking a passive role as a citizen nulls the efforts a democracy creates. Additionally, taking an active role as a citizen but remaining ignorant is just as bad. Not participating as a citizen cancels the idea, ideology, and overall beliefs of America. Active involvement in government, in addition to knowledge is essential for the system to work properly. Information is readily available to anyone who seeks it; government has taught me that.

Participation in the election process is one key role an active citizen must engage in

Improving Voter Participation

Voter participation is very low. While America defines itself as a democracy, it is hard to back this assertion up when such little of its population participates in electing the leaders of our country. According the CNN, only approximately 51% of our population votes, a staggering low number. Citizens feel that their vote really doesn’t matter in the large scheme of things, however the democracy of the United States is hurt by not having a majority of the population voting. I believe that this lack of participation is embarrassing, and I am relieved that people are addressing this issue and examine way to fix it.

As an eighteen-year old high school student, the most humiliating statistic is the number of eligible youth voters. Jessica Babtsite reports that only 42% of eligible voters between ages eighteen to twenty-four vote. Personally, it does not surprise me that this number is so low. It seems as if politicians have neglected to reach out and connect the young people of America, and they have left us hanging. Most kids are indifferent about how our country is run, mostly because people have never cared to inform them. However, the problem is on both sides. Young people need to understand that it is pertinent to participate in the democracy that America has provided, and politicians need to understand that the young people of American have opinions and they do matter.
In 1990, an organization called Rock the Vote was created to improve the statistic of youth voting. The program informed kids, and encouraged them to vote. This program also awoken the politicians, and made them understand how necessary it is to address the youth of America. In 1992, just two years after the program started, there was nearly a 20% increase in youth voting. In 2004, 1.2 million young people voted in the presidential election. In 2008, 2.25 million young people voted. However in 2012, the level of youth voting stayed the same. As numbers have increased though, there is no doubt in my mind that despite the recent turnout in 2012, numbers in youth participation will continue to rise.

Social media has as well begun to influence voter turn out. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blogs, vlogs, and Youtube, and email have all greatly manipulated not only the Presidential elections, but also any government election across the world. In an article on Voice of America, an online news site, James Fowler proclaims just how social media can influence an election. He says that he once received an email that said, “There was also a link that you could click on that allowed you to look up your polling place. And in some of the messages we also showed people the pictures of their friends who

had clicked on the ‘I Voted’ button earlier in the day.” Social media affects both sides of elections, the voters and the candidates. Voters can become very informed on any candidate within seconds, as well as develop opinions on candidates within seconds. Social media has allowed voters to connect to their candidates like never before. On the other hand, candidates can also connect with their people like never before as well. They can get a feel for what the people are feeling and what people’s opinions are. Through social media, it is much easier for candidates to conform to the idea of everyone, rather than just the people they meet face to face. All of the connections created by social media have definitely influenced voter turnout, and it has definitely increased the numbers.

There is no doubt in my mind that by addressing the issue of voter participation and creating ways to improve numbers such as Rock the Vote or social media tactics, voter participation will continue to rise. I predict that both youth participation and total voter turnout will be at its greatest percentage by the 2016 elections. I know I will definitely be voting for the first time!

Are They Really Watching?

The focus of government in the third trimester has greatly widened my knowledge of the United States democracy and the components that make our government work smoothly. Class activities have helped enrich my understanding as a student because when I research and do the work to find information about a subject myself, I seem to grasp the information better and enjoy it. Interactive tasks such as topical debates centered around the Constitution, reading and questioning of Government representation and the research of presidential campaigns/voting polls have all helped me understand the depth of our government.

In trimester three I enjoyed the project concerning presidential campaign commercials the most. According to television producer and Nixon campaign consultant Roger Ailes in 1968, the purpose of Presidential campaigns is to gain beneficial exposure to the public. He said, “Television is no gimmick, and nobody will ever be elected to major office again without presenting themselves well on it.”

The investigation of techniques used in these interested me because I had never been forced to ponder over the skills necessary to execute a successful ad before. Broadly speaking, this is an example of how the class exercises have led me to become involved and informed about various aspects of government. I think the reason that the presidential ads were one of the most exciting parts of all the assignments for me is because I have seen many political ads on TV at home throughout the years; however, I had never thought twice about the underlying meaning and purpose of the content in each one. As I worked on the project, viewing the political commercials of Nixon vs. McGovern and Bush vs. Gore, I realized that the use of persuasion seemed to be the most important of them all. As said by our 16th President, “When the conduct of men is designed to be influenced, persuasion, kind unassuming persuasion, should ever be adopted.” –Abraham Lincoln. The quote helps me understand that in politics that the motive of persuasion is important among people in order to help them understand issues and develop ideas about what they desire. This relates to the assignment of Presidential Campaign commercials as I had found numerous examples of effective persuasion in each. After all, the purpose of the ads is to draw voters nearer to believing what they want them to believe… this, the definition of persuasion.

This long time push for Presidential campaign commercials doesn’t always receive positive feedback from viewers. After researching and reading various polls such as this one shown below, it makes me more interested in trying to decipher what makes a good, effective ad.

This poll shows that people tend to believe positively charged commercials more than negatively ones. When I was viewing my assigned commercials during a class activity, I noticed 2 of the 3 were favorable support for the direct candidate, not solely targeting their opponent. After researching, I found that positive persuasion is one of the most important factors of a successful political campaign because after all, it is the public’s view that decides whether the ad is successful or not. I personally agree with this poll and the studies that show that commercials and ads that encourage the presidential candidate are more uplifting and believable. Positively charged commercials seem to have an aura that promotes success, and this is what is memorable for viewers. At the end of the day it is viewers like you and I, who determine whether a campaign commercial has achieved their purpose: grasping the attention and support of the voter watching.

Social Media Taking Over

Social media has the ability to reach an incredibly large amount of people, especially those of who are young. Social Media reaches young people in a way we will want to read it and it will gain our attention in 140 characters. In addition to that it is short and down to the main point. If we are involved in these social media sites people’s issues will be more prone to get attention and more involvement in the future. I believe there will be a big shift in how public figures are perceived and how campaigns are conducted through social media in the future.

The good things about social media are people can engage in groups of people whoagree with the same things they agree with. These snippets of information that otherwise would not ever be seen allows people to be engaged in many forms of topics. Truthfully at my age and in these days I would not pick up a newspaper or a magazine article or sit down and watch an interview on TV unless forced to for school work. Social media allows me to not have to do those things. As I said before twitter only allows there are 140 characters which peek our interest and influence us, instead of reading the newspaper or watching TV interview which are usually long and can be tedious. Of course there are also risks to social media people can say things that aren’t true, people only see those 140 characters and don’t actually dig into the issue further; therefore leading them to believe something that is not fully true as well as being influenced in the wrong way. My personal option is that the good out ways the bad in social media. Social media may be deceiving it’s not simply just a communication tool, but actually includes the American public in substantive decision making were they feel like they can make a difference and get informed.

One digital democracy experiment led by House Republicans called “You Cut”, a social media hub where participants can suggest and vote on which government spending programs should be cut from the federal budget. Millions of votes were cast across the country to encourage the House to cut spending. The website gives a list of spending cuts we believe should be sponsored by the YouCut program all you have to do is vote.

Our government class has been using twitter in order to share our options on certain topics as well as follow our choice of candidates that share are interest. We can see how candidates promote themselves as well as their campaign rallies. Using Social Media in class has really opened my mind more into politics. It’s a way to educate the public as well as entertain. These days Social media is such a big part and will only continue to rise. Our future depends on technology and social media. I wonder how long until we see a winning campaign strategy that is purely social?

How Social Media Effects Politics

In our current day society, social media has a huge impact on the way in which we live our lives. The most popular social networking website, facebook, receives hits from over 250 million daily users. According to pew research center “approximately 8 percent of Americans use twitter”. Nevertheless, how do these social media sites effect politics today; overall are they beneficial or harmful to our current political system?

Social networking sites can be used as tools to spread political information and views quickly and efficiently. Websites such as twitter and facebook can spread information much more quickly than that of pervious media outlets such as newspaper and local Television. The reason for this is because there are many more people on these sites who can repost or re-tweet important information making it more visible to other users on the site. In addition, with social media sites, there is no need to wait for television crews to arrive when something happens. This is because of how portable social medial can be, it something important where to happen it would be much faster for an onlooker to tweet the information on his or her phone rather then wait for a local news crew to arrive at the scene. For example when Osama bin Laden was killed the story got out almost instantly because a person living near the house where bin Laden was staying tweeted about the raid while it was happening, many hours before television reporters heard about it.

Social media Websites also help to “reach out” to a younger voters who are familiar with these sites and use them often. Since younger voters often use social media sites just like politicians do the voters can become more informed about the views of different candidates in elections and will be able to more accurately vote on who they feel is the best. Not only do social media sites help to inform younger voters but they also can encourage them to go out and vote on election days, the reason for this is that if they are more informed on different candidates views they will be more likely to vote. Also people often tweet reminders about elections on twitter which can help voters remember which day elections are taking place on so that they can go out and vote.

In conclusion, Social media Obviously plays a huge roll in how politics works in our country today. Not only can it aid in rapid and efficient spread of information, but it can also be used to help politicians connect with and inform younger voters about their political views. In addition social media sites help to filter out false information by allowing it to be read and reviewed by millions people through out the world

Social Media: Moving Politics Towards the Future

The social media has made an enormous impact on our day-to-day lives. We now have access to information at a speed that seemed unimaginable to many at one point. We learn of current events minutes, if not seconds, after they occur. Throughout this constant flow of information, politics seem to get a good share of the publicity. After all is said and done, the question still remains of the effect of social media on politics. Is the effect ultimately a good one, or is it damaging?

While the constant buzz of information on current presidential candidates may seem dramatic, this is actually very beneficial to the voting population. Accessing information about candidates and their policies could not be easier, which encourages those ill-informed about the election to do a bit of research. As so eloquently put on ForeignAffairs.com, “As the communications landscape gets denser, more complex, and more participatory, the networked population is gaining greater access to information, more opportunities to engage in public speech, and an enhanced ability to undertake collective action.” Everyone has a greater chance of becoming an informed citizen. Democracy thrives on the voting process, and the social media often gives voters the push they need to gain knowledge about the candidates and make the vote that they think is best. In many ways, the new information highway has been a huge advantage for the voting population of America.

Sometimes it may seem that our knowledge has been duplicated due to our social media connections, but in some cases we don’t learn anything. Depending on the credibility of your source, you may even be retaining illegitimate information. This incorrect treatment of the social media leads to a downward spiral creating a society filled with people acting on facts that aren’t correct to begin with. This, in fact, works against the voting process and can often lead to wrong decisions made for our country. While there is plenty of evidence of the correct usage of the social media towards politics, there is even more evidence of poor information being circulated.

Even though social media has often times led the political world astray, there are certainly ways to educate the public to use credible sources. Information that is poor or incorrect should be reported to the website domain immediately. If wrong information is circulated, people will be convinced that it is the truth. This would lead us nowhere on the path towards creating a world where social media is used to educate rather than simply entertain.

Twitter, Facebook, You tube, Oh my!

For a term that was foreign 10 years ago, Social Media has had an immense impact on the political world and everyday news. Social media is a two-way street that gives one the ability to communicate about what can be read and seen. The technology behind Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo and other various news sites has allowed many people who may have been ill-informed before, to be become active in current happenings. It is also another way to compare one source of printed media with other sources throughout the country. Through the invention of Social media, the ability to express ones thoughts and ideas can now be accessed much quicker. Citizens can now engage in the issues that are of high importance to them;they are able to share certain ideas and connect with those who have similar views. Social media has the ability to open people’s eyes, especially for those who may not be as involved in the news, politics, or social networking. It shows them an accessible way to involved and be fresh on current events, as well as getting aquainted with the democratic process. Social media is becoming known as a new approach to politics, government and worldwide news.

In politics, Social Media has become very important for campaign advertising, news coverage, and even soliciting campaign contributions. One example where a major change occurred due to the effects of social media was when the Susan G. Komen foundation was forced to reverse their course on Planned Parenthood, shortly after a public outpour of their decision to quit funding their organization. This past January millions of people signed online petitions and contacted members of Congress, protesting to pass poor legislation on online piracy. Due to these factors, Lawmakers were forced to withdraw the bills. Another more recent example of a social media out pour is the Trayvon Martin case. Many citizens were bothered by this 17 year-olds death but, what was anyone going to do about it? As soon as this innocent boys shooting made headlines, people all over the U.S. were in shock. Online protests and pettions against Zimmerman, Trayvons killer. The protests began on began the morning after his shooting on a fairly new website, MoveOn.org. People began sharing petitions on their twitter page and in just one day, the amount of signatures went from 75 to over 75,000, currently having 479,000. These examples clearly show that in order for our democratic system to remain stable, citizens must believe they have the ability to influence the outcome of the government’s activity.

Having the opportunity to blog on political and current subjects has helped me keep in contact with what is happening in our world on a day-to-day basis. My opinions have been completely altered in certain situations because I am much better at being able to see different viewpoints. The way our class has been set up has really helped my understanding of the entire political system, along with news papers, magazines, politcal newspappers and even blogs. These varities of social media have broadened my views about the government and all that it really does.