Hi everyone!
Happy last week of class! We (Lily + Jen) have a presentation for you on the topic of echo chambers and social media algorithms.
We ask that you listen to this brief TED talk before the presentation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKyFL389qe8
The presentation can be found here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17ddxeLsNrFkR4nBGYIg9xPNEuyW4Kx6W/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=112960695207189737520&rtpof=true&sd=true.
The presentation itself has embedded audio recordings that you can listen to as you go through the slides (you can click on the megaphone icon on each slide), but to listen to them, please download the file as Google Slides does not support the audio. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to follow along visually, we’ve provided a transcription that can be accessed here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tbUzi1wc6lCoUIwbmgWbeS-Bfurz_NZuIDB3arE57mE/edit?usp=sharing
Please feel free to share any comments you may have here.
Thanks!
Lily Le and Jennifer Huang
Thank you for your presentation, Lily and Jen. I found the Kitchens et al. article gave a unique approach to the discussion of social media echo chambers. I was surprised that social media use lead to the broadening of the diversity of information source consumption, as discussions around social media echo chambers usually suggest that the opposite happens. It makes sense given that these platforms usually link to external sites, which can include a variety of different websites. Partisanship and diversity of information sources are usually subsumed into each other when discussing echo chambers, but the distinction is important when considering how they should be regulated. On the issue of regulation, I agree that algorithms promoting content are inevitable and should be controlled rather than banned or strictly restrained. Positive regulation through the promotion of more diverse content that works alongside these algorithms could be a solution that does not place an undue burden on social media platforms. However, given the controversy surrounding Bill C-11’s requirement to promote Canadian content, I imagine there will be a lot of disagreements on how this should be done. Section 9.1(8) of Bill C-11 bars the CRTC from requiring platforms to use specific algorithms to promote certain content. How audiovisual platforms will deal with these requirements imposed by Bill C-11 could shed light on how they can also deal with issues caused by social media echo chambers.