EOTO - Echo Chamber

I did my Each One Teach One Mediasphere concept on echo chambers which was a really interesting topic especially in the times of the presidential election. An echo chamber is an environment where a person only encounters information or opinions that reflect and reinforce their own. This means that they only hear the same perspectives and opinions over and over again.

An echo chamber can easily create misinformation. People in an echo chamber may have difficulty considering opposing viewpoints from their own because of how much their beliefs have been reinforced. These people can also have a hard time discussing complicated topics because they only know one side of the conversation. Confirmation bias is a concept that goes hand in hand with echo chambers. Confirmation bias is the tendency to favor information that fortifies existing beliefs. People in an echo chamber often have a confirmation bias.

Echo chambers can happen in many different places. Getting caught in an echo chamber can happen online or in real life. These chambers happen often on social media platforms such as Tik Tok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. On Tik Tok it is quite easy to get caught in one because Tik Tok shows you videos based on your interests and what you interact with. If you are in support of Pro-choice you are often liking and interacting with these videos and Tik Tok will never put videos on your timeline of people creating Pro-life content. This is a form of an echo chamber. On Facebook there are groups that you can join tailored to your beliefs. A Donald Trump supporter on Facebook may join a Trump fan page and interact with people who have the same opinions. The Facebook group/chamber shields these supporters from hearing out the people who dislike Trump. Twitter and Instagram work the same, placing you into a chamber based off of what you interact with. Echo chambers can exist throughout your everyday life as well. They can happen through surrounding yourself with the people from the school you attend, your neighborhood, and even your family can be an echo chamber. 

In the midst of the presidential election I had found myself caught in an echo chamber. Every night when I would scroll on Tik Tok I was mostly interacting with the democratic videos that supported my own viewpoints. Each following day when I would spend time on Tik Tok they had tailored the app to my interests and would only show me content that matched my opinion. When I realized what was happening I was interested to see what would happen if I only began to interact with republican videos and sure enough the following days I was stuck in Trump Tik Tok. 

Most of the time you may not realize that you are in an echo chamber. There are several questions that you can ask yourself to identify whether you are in one including:

• Do they tend to only give one perspective on the issue?

• Is the viewpoint surrounded by a rumor or incomplete evidence?

• Are facts ignored whenever they go against the one viewpoint?

 

After identifying an echo chamber there are several ways to make sure that you avoid being caught in one. Have open conversations with people who have opposing viewpoints from your own and ask questions. Look into multiple sources rather than only reading one newspaper company or watching one network. And finally, just because you want something to be true does not mean that it is!

I challenge you, to challenge the echo chamber!

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se20RoB331w

https://ipolitics.ca/2018/03/09/myth-echo-chamber/