BLOG #8: EOTO #2

Echo Chamber

An echo chamber is an environment where a person only encounters information that reflect their own opinions. The idea of an "echo chamber" has caused many issues throughout the media because it spreads a lot of misinformation. From what is shown throughout the news media, an echo chamber has had an overall negative affect on society as a whole. Confirmation bias is brought into this idea because it makes consumers of the media ask the question, "Is this real or fake news?". Many news sources that we use today likes to share information that will gain them publicity even when it isn't the truth. When we become inclined to a certain news source, we start to trust the news source with the information it shares with the public. Wikipedia is an example of a source in which we think is trust worthy because its the first website that comes up after one searches something on the internet. Since Wikipedia is one of the top pages on Google, we automatically choose the website to receive information since it is a popular source that others use. Most people are oblivious that Wikipedia gets their information from sources that are most likely unreliable.

Affect on Society

Echo chambers can affect all generations because it leads us to believe information and cause chaos. In order to avoid this, we need to make a habit of checking multiple news sources to ensure we are getting the correct information. In our generation, we are drawn to certain news sources but we need to understand which news sources are ones to trust. If I were to share information with my parents that I thought was true, my parents would deny it because they are familiar with more reliable news sources. Echo chambers can also cause us to distort our perspectives so we have difficulty considering opposing viewpoints and discussing complicated topics. The idea of shared misinformation can make it difficult to understand our own views because certain sources share information that isn't true. As individuals, we need to learn that "Just because something you want to be true, does not mean that it is a fact".