A recent PEW Research study has been interpreted by
many to indicate that we are living in "partisan and ideological echo
chambers." This interpretation seems to be a growing concern as technology
increases consumer access to polarized media.
This article, however, concludes views the results of
PEW's polling and other research :
The
problem isn’t the news we consume, it seems, but the values and identities that
shape how we interpret that information — most notably, our partisan beliefs.
In other words, Democrats and Republicans don’t see the world so differently
because they see different news; rather, they see the news differently because
they’re Democrats and Republicans in the first place.
I found these ideas about political polarization and the media's
questionable ability to sway peoples' ideas particularly interesting in
relation to our class discussions and blogging. Do you think that when we read
a blog post or article that does not align with our values and ideology we dismiss it? Or
do you think that you are able to keep an open mind and sometimes even shift what we think based on new/different information?
Do you more commonly read news sources that are associated with
your political positioning? When you read articles from news sources that are
associated with other political standings, are you more critical of them? Or do
they tend to sway you to their side on that issue? If values do come
first, then is it fine to, for example, only read the Times and not the
Journal, or visa versa?
It's difficult to approach a political topic without any beliefs or presumptions biasing the way in which we read our listen to news on it. Personally, I do more commonly read news sources that are associated with my political position. However, I do like reading stories from both sides simply so that I can be aware of both perspectives than create my own opinion. In this case, I think it can depend on the person; some people are die hard democratic or die hard republican, whereas I would identify myself as supporting certain topics on each side with a lean towards one side. I like to think that I keep an open mind in understanding and respecting both perspectives rather than shutting out one side of the argument simply because it isn't my side.
ReplyDeleteI think it's very difficult to disentangle the relative components of whether we select into polarized media or polarized media makes us more polarized. I think the answer is probably both to some extent.
ReplyDeleteThe studies mentioned were very interesting, and I would add this one to the mix where the authors found that daily newspapers respond more to their market's ideology rather than setting out with an explicit agenda.
Given that it's a Pew Research Center study, we can infer that there's probably quite a bit of truth to their claim. However, I do think the polarization of politics has bled into the media to a significant degree, and that partisan media does play at least a small part, because although partisan news stations may be reporting actual facts, they distort them to fit the political affiliation of their viewers.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cam that it tends to be difficult for people to not be biased towards certain stories based on their personal opinions and perspectives. One reason for this is that we tend only to pick up on facts that support our thoughts. Second, I think the media has a lot of influence. It's up to the media to portray the whole story, but sometimes getting all the details can be difficult. On the other hand, the media may not relay all of the information if it wants people to view the story from a certain angle. Ultimately, I think it's interesting how the use of information can affect people's opinions and, in turn, how people's opinions can affect the use of information.
ReplyDelete