MODULE 3: DARK AND LIGHT SIDE OF THE INTERNET

THE DARK SIDE

Lesson 1: Utopian and Dystopian Views of the Internet

INTRODUCTION
The Internet has had a profound effect on the way modern society functions. Its
meteoric rise has had a profound effect on numerous facets of how we learn and interact. It is
self-evident that the Internet has the potential to transform how people interact and to expand
access to information. While neither of these factors is known to have an effect on the social
landscape, this has not deterred many from forecasting the effects of technology on society.
The last decade has seen significant change on a global scale. All of this is made possible by
the expansion of broadband internet connectivity and the availability of a diverse set of software
and hardware tools. In other words, technology has become inextricably linked to the way
people live. Technology has altered our way of thinking, communicating, and planning events
with family and friends. This lesson provides context for several of the most contentious Internet
issues.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Know the usage of the Internet.
2. Enumerate challenges in making materials available in public through the World Wide Web.
3. Understand the utopian and dystopian views of the internet.
4. Analyze the impact of internet to the society.

LESSON PROPER
Science and technological advancements have always elicited both hope and fear in society.
Science fiction, by fusing the rigors of science with the imagination of fiction, contributes
significantly to the expression of these emotions. At the dawn of the Internet era, there was
great hope that the new medium's interconnectedness of information would result in a more
diverse discussion agenda. It would be an ideal forum for discussion and dissemination,
providing everyone with completely free and instant information.
The World Wide Web
The creation of the World Wide Web accelerated the Internet's growth in popularity. Tim
Berners-Lee, the Web's creator, originally proposed the Web as a documentation system for
CERN, the Swiss particle physics research center, but the development of simple-to-use Web
browsers made the Web accessible to "ordinary" computer users as well. The Web is a
hypertext system: a dynamic database of information that enables the linking of Web pages in
any way. People can easily navigate this hypertext system using web browsers such as
Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari.
Two characteristics contributed to the Web's evolution into a global tool for information
exchange. To begin, it is a decentralized system. Without the permission of a central authority,
an individual or organization can add new information to the Web. Second, each Web object
has a unique address. By referencing another object's address, any object can establish a link
to another object. The address of a Web object is referred to as a URL (uniform resource
locator).
The Rise of the App
Individuals are spending increasing amounts of time on smartphones and tablets and
decreasing amounts of time on laptops and desktop computers. Utilizing Web browsers on
mobile devices can be inconvenient, which is why businesses are developing mobile apps:
software programs that are downloaded and installed on mobile devices. While some mobile
apps operate independently, others connect to the Internet, enabling users to download and
upload data. Mobile apps are becoming an increasingly popular method of Internet access due
to their ability to optimize the use of a mobile device's resources (limited screen size, touch
interface, etc.).

How We Use the Internet

With the advent of intuitive Web browsers and mobile applications, the Internet has become
accessible to individuals with little or no formal computer training. Millions of people use the
Internet for a variety of purposes these days. The following are a few examples of how people
use the Internet.
1. We shop.
2. We socialize.
3. We contribute content.
4. We blog.
5. We help each other avoid traffic jams.
6. We learn.
7. We explore our roots.
8. We enter virtual worlds.
9. We control the Internet of Things.
10. We take humanitarian action.
Censorship
Censorship is the practice of attempting to prohibit or restrict public access to material deemed
offensive or harmful. Historically, governments and religious institutions have exercised the
majority of censorship. For instance, the Roman censors exiled poets Ovid and Juvenal for their
works. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Inquisition prohibited the publication of numerous
books, including Galileo Galilei's work.
With the invention of the printing press, censorship became a much more complicated issue.
The printing press ended governments and religious institutions' virtual monopoly on material
distribution to a large audience, and the increase in printed material resulted in an increase in
the number of literate people. For the first time, private individuals had the ability to broadcast
their ideas to a large audience.
The gradual separation of church and state in Western democracies left the government as the
sole institution responsible for censorship. Religious institutions continue to play a significant
role in determining what material should be accessible to the public in other parts of the world,
such as the Middle East.

Challenges Posed by the Internet

Five characteristics of the Internet make censorship more difficult:

1. Unlike traditional one-to-many broadcast media, the Internet supports many-to-

many communications.

. While it is relatively easy for a government to shut down a newspaper or radio station, it is
exceedingly difficult for a government to prevent an idea from being published on the
Internet, where millions of people can create Web pages.
2. The Internet is dynamic.

Millions of new computers are being connected to the Internet each year.

3. The Internet is huge

A team of human censors simply cannot keep track of everything that is posted on the
Web. While automated tools are available, they are not impervious to human error. As a
result, no attempt to control access to material stored on the Internet can be guaranteed
to be completely effective.

4.The Internet is global.

National governments have limited authority to restrict activities happening outside their
borders.

5. It is hard to distinguish between children and adults on the Internet. How can an
―adult‖ Web site verify the age of someone attempting to enter the site?

Cyber Utopianism and Cyber-Dystopia

 Cyber-utopianism – he belief that online communication is emancipatory in and of itself
– and that the Internet favors the oppressed over the oppressor – has accompanied the
Internet since its inception, and was criticized by the Critical Art Ensemble as early as
1995. Utopians argue that cyberspace will facilitate communication on both political and
non-political levels. The utopian position frequently argues that the communicative action
that emerges as a result of this interaction can help limit the market's subversion of
deliberative democracy.

While the Internet undoubtedly has an impact on society, it does not herald the dawn of
a new era in human history. It is absurd to compare it to the industrial revolution, which
displaced nearly everyone from the farm and deposited them in a radically altered urban
environment. The "digital divide" is significantly easier to bridge than the divide between
city and country in a society without telephones, televisions, or automobiles. If, on the
other hand, the predictions are implausible, the humanist defense is superfluous.

The Internet can host a wide variety of social activities, as computer networking enables
group communication across a range of topics, from work to education to hobby
exchanges and the search for dating partners. These social interactions take place in
word-based virtual worlds. The Internet's "written world" appears to be a place where
humans and machines coexist peacefully.

Technical communities have been able to use the Internet to coordinate their demands
for a more comprehensive representation of their interests. The new online politics has
expanded the public sphere to include previously regarded as neutral issues that were
left to experts to decide without consultation. This has resulted in the creation of a social
and technical environment conducive to the recovery of agency in the traditional domain
of politics, despite the Internet's increasingly centralized organization.

In contrast to the utopian perspective, which is concerned with the effects of the Internet
on society, the dystopian perspective is concerned with the phenomenon of experience.
Rather than viewing the Internet as a tool, the dystopian perspective emphasizes the
medium's potential to affect communication in such a way that it may adversely affect
communication practices and spaces. David Nye introduced the concept of cyber-
dystopia in August 2007, which envisions a world made worse by technological
advancements. Cyber-dystopias are based on the premise that the individual loses
control, becomes dependent, and is powerless to halt change. Nye envisions a society in
which the elite use technology to oppress and control large populations. Additionally, he
portrays technology as a source of false hope, promising success and change but
resulting in pain and inconvenience when those goals are not achieved.

The dystopian argument asserts that democracy erodes as society's social fabric
fragments and people become increasingly isolated from one another. Along with the
breakdown of strong bonds between society's members, many critics agree that the
Internet will stifle connections between central and peripheral actors. Participants at the
center of an information-based communicative structure will be less connected than ever
before.
Today's Internet is no less replete with dystopian interpretations. Both privacy and
content on the Internet have long been a source of social concern, serving as the focal
points of two of the most heated debates about the potential negative consequences of
this communication technology. There are numerous stories about cyberlurkers and the
theft of personal information via the Internet. Internet users from all sectors of society
face content-related concerns. At a recent conference, for example, an academic argued
that, given the amount of indecent information and cybersmut on the Internet, it was
debatable whether the Internet should be used for the publication or disturbing of
Scholarly work. Similarity, the popular media have recognized the Internet's dystopian
aspects.

Whether or not one views the Internet and all of its technological accoutrements as a
panacea for democratic problems, the truth about the Internet's capabilities, like most
truth, lies somewhere in between these utopian and dystopian interpretations. To grasp
this technology's impact on society realistically, we must acknowledge the extreme
readings of its effects for what they are: the result of a cultural lag between the spread of
the Internet and the technology's adoption.

ASSESSMENT

Creative Work: Create an infographic revealing the impact of the internet to your life,
your family and environment in an A4 bond paper. Provide a brief explanation of your
output.

Agree or Disagree: Is Google making us stupid or smart? Support your answer. Write it
in a whole sheet of paper.

LESSON 2: MEDIA ACCELERATION AND INFORMATION OVERLOAD

INTRODUCTION

While the Information Age has benefited commerce, entertainment, work,

communication, and education, it has also had serious negative consequences,
including pornography, opportunities for hate groups to grow, sexual predators, and
cyber bullies. However, for the average citizen, too much of a good thing is not always
beneficial. Due to the vast amount of heterogeneous information available on the
Internet, this medium may present difficulties for users. The difficulty of evaluating and
selecting relevant information increases as the variety of sources and content available
increases. As a result, information overload (IO) may occur. It has infiltrated our lives
and is amplified exponentially when we are forced to sift through dizzying amounts of
data in order to make simple daily decisions.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Understand the relationship of the usage of social networking sites (SNS), information
overload, depressive symptoms, and well-being.
2. Identify examples and reasons of oversharing.
3. Discuss the relationship of media acceleration and information overload.
4. Identify effective strategies of dealing with information overload.

LESSON PROPER

Adolescence described both positive and negative uses of social media in the
journal of adolescence. Positive uses included looking for positive content (e.g., for
entertainment, humor, or content creation) or connecting with others. Negative uses
included sharing risky behaviors, cyberbullying, and comparing oneself to others.
Adolescents elaborated on three distinct types of use, including "oversharing" (frequent
updates or sharing excessive personal information), "stressed posting" (sharing negative
updates with a social network), and encountering "triggering posts‖ (Radovic et al.,
2017).

Mobile social networking sites (SNS) are frequently blamed for perceived information
overload, which has been shown to have a detrimental effect on an individual's well-
being. According to research, the following findings demonstrated the cumulative effects
of mobile SNS use, information overload, depressive symptoms, and well-being
(Matthes et al., 2020).

1. YouTube use increased perceived information overload over time.

2. WhatsApp and Snapchat use only increased information overload for older adults.
3. Facebook as well as Instagram use were unrelated to information overload.
4. Information overload was significantly related to depressive symptoms over time.
5. Depressive symptoms decreased overall well-being over time.

In many ways social media does connect people-which overall is a good thing. It
helps connect old friends, helps inform and gives sense of human connection when one
is alone. It has given exposure for personalities who were surprisingly discovered by the
whole world such as the famous ―Carrot Man‖, ―Cabbage Man‖ and ―Miss
Everything‖. Facebook Events allow consumers to make a movement in a quick and
transparent way. Facebook Live can show an event or happening via live streaming
video to the social media user‘s network. While this technology is amazing and does
bring people together, there have been some unanticipated occurrences with live
streaming. Most notably, Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of Philando Castile who was
fatally shot by police in 2016, posted a Facebook Live video showing the social media
world a glimpse of the effects of the tragedy on a community and their loved ones. Of
course, an argument can be made that this exposure made possible by live video and
social media can help bring awareness to some important social problems.

Social media is a very useful tool. However, it, like every other tool people use in
life, has its own set of risks. The dangers posed by the information people post and
obtain on social media deserve special attention.

When someone disclose too much personal information with the public or a
stranger, they are said to be oversharing. It can happen online as well as offline. It is,
 however, a significant issue on social media platforms, which make "posting yourself
online" simple.

Examples of Oversharing

People overshare on social media in various ways. Here are a few examples:
 Posting intimate details about your relationships, friendships, family
matters, or personal drama.
 Using social media as a soapbox or a way to vent your emotions.
 Posting photos or videos of things meant to be private
. Posting embarrassing photos or videos of yourself or others.
 Regularly posting your meals.
 "Checking In" to everywhere you go.
 Posting about whatever you are doing at a given moment, multiple times a
day.
 Sharing too much info about and photos of your children.

Why Do We Share Too Much?

For starters, excessive use of social media can lead to oversharing. Here are a few more
reasons why people may overshare on the internet:

1. It is encouraged by social media.

Social media sites invite users to share everything about their personal lives. With
the press of a button, you can submit a status update, a photo, an event, or a
"checkin." Unfortunately, this can lead to FOMO, or fear of missing out, an
uncomfortable emotion. FOMO is a lingering feeling that other people are doing
things without you, or that things are going by without you.

Other people's lives on social media profiles can give the idea that their lives are so
much better than ours. After all, we can peer into their lives in ways we couldn't
previously. People may check on and look at other people's vacation images, then
wonder why their lives are so monotonous. As a result, they may feel insecure about
their own life. They may feel compelled to post their own "highlights" whenever
possible in order to outdo their friends and appear "interesting."

2. To Let Go Of Negative Emotions And Stress

We've probably all seen someone's angry Facebook tirade at some point. It can be
tempting to "spread your bad laundry" on social media because it provides everyone
a voice and a place to express it. That temptation did not exist before to the internet.

3. To Get Rid of Their Anger

"Oversharing is fostered by our fears," according to this Huffington Post article. We are
overly concerned with what others think of us and try to compensate for what we believe
others are judging us for. As a result, some people share far too much information.
4. To Attract Attention
Many people aspire to get their 15 minutes of celebrity. Getting likes, comments, and shares, as
well as that extra push of attention, might make them feel famous. This might lead to a desire to
share items that they know will attract attention, even if they are "too much."

Aaron Elliott listed six particular risks that can happen to anyone because of the
information they post on social networks.

1. Social Engineering

It is the skill of persuading someone to provide sensitive information. The types of

information these criminals seek can vary, but when you're targeted, they're usually
trying to trick you into giving them your passwords or bank information, or into
gaining access to your computer so they can secretly install malicious software that
gives them access to your passwords and bank information as well as control over
your computer. It can happen even if thieves have only the most basic information
available to them through social media. However, the more information people share
about themselves on the internet, the more well-crafted social engineering schemes
will become. (Webroot)

2. Identify Theft
It is the intentional use of another person's identity, usually to gain a financial
advantage or obtain credit and other benefits in the other person's name, and often
to the prejudice or loss of the other person. (Wikipedia)

3. Cyber Bullying

It's also known as cyber harassment, and it's a type of bullying or harassment that
take place via the internet. As the digital environment has grown and technology has
evolved, it has become more widespread, particularly among youth. Bullies might
utilize what people write on social media to further their schemes.

4. Damaged reputation

It's possible that posting content about drinking, illegal substances, or profanity will
harm your reputation. These can not only harm your reputation, but they can also
deter recruits.

5. Targeted Ads

Targeted advertising is a type of advertising that is directed towards audiences with

specific characteristics depending on the product or person the marketer is promoting,
including online. Preferences that are posted and listed may result in targeted
advertisements. (Wikipedia)

6. Real-world Threats
 Posting upcoming activities on social media could expose you to real-world risks such
as burglary or stalking. How to Avoid Oversharing? Oversharing has the potential to
become a dangerous habit. It is, nevertheless, rather straightforward to break that habit.
Here are a few pointers on how to avoid it. 1. Do not post if you are enraged. Anger can
cause you to speak things you wouldn't normally say. It can cause you to lose focus on
what you're saying. Angry posts could also transmit a message that you didn't intend to
send.

How to Avoid Oversharing?

Oversharing has the potential to become a dangerous habit. It is, nevertheless, rather
straightforward to break that habit. Here are a few pointers on how to avoid it.

1. Do not post if you are enraged.

Anger can cause you to speak things you wouldn't normally say. It can cause you to
lose focus on what you're saying. Angry posts could also transmit a message that
you didn't intend to send.

2. Pick and choose.

Take some time to consider whether sharing something on social media is actually
a smart idea. When it comes to sharing information on social media, use your best
judgment. Determine whether posting it is too intimate, private, or contentious. Also,
consider whether this information could be used against you.

3. Keep in Mind That Social Media Is Not Your Life...

Or, for that matter, anyone else's

Social media is a valuable resource. But be wary of allowing it to take over your life.
You shouldn't feel obligated to "prove" yourself on social media. In actual life, most
individuals aren't as concerned with other people's personal lives as the internet
would have you believe. Social media does not provide a complete view of other
people's life. It's more of a highlight reel than anything else. Rather than living
vicariously through these websites, call your friends or family and spend some time
with them.

4. Take a break for a while.

Finally, if you believe that these sites are impacting your mental health, try
"disconnecting" from the internet for a bit and doing something else.

Information Overload and Coping Strategies

The majority of social media platforms do not encourage significant, timely debate.
They fixate myopically on the information of the moment—the news—and inundate
their customers with irrelevant data, robbing them of the time they need to think and
create important, nuanced opinions.

The majority of news is sent in the form of chronological feeds. Current news is
published on a regular basis by newspapers, periodicals, and journals. The news is
carried live on television and radio as it happens. Trending topics are listed on
websites like Reddit and Twitter, while Facebook feeds display your friends'
updates in real time.

Because there is simply too much information to digest at any given time, we must
compartmentalize information through feeds. The rate at which people consume
news has accelerated in tandem with the pace of news. News feeds sift through the
clutter, bringing together the most significant information from around the world.

Despite this, according to a Pew poll, no single news audience is up to date on

current events.

Students and other people have a difficult time dealing with information overload.
There is simply a tremendous amount of data involved in many tasks and daily
activities. It can feel impossible to stay on top of things at times. The ideas below
can help you manage your overload by simplifying what comes your way and
offering you strategies for dealing with the rest.

Information Overload Coping Strategies

1. News Avoidance
2. Reducing the Number of Information Sources
3. Reducing Information Volume
4. Filtering News Information Based on Relevance
5. Filtering Based on Privacy Concerns
6. Source and Content Personalization and Customization
7. Selecting ―pull‖ over ―push‖ media and topics\
8. Relying on socially curated information
9. Categorizing and sorting news topics, sources and channels
10. Seeking independence from, institutional media

LESSON 3: INTERNET ADDICTION AND ISOLATION

INTRODUCTION

The internet is defined as ―a system architecture that has revolutionized

communications and methods of commerce by allowing various computer networks
around the world to interconnect‖ (Kahn & Dennis, 2020). It developed in the 1970
at the United States. It wasn‘t until the early 1990s that it became visible to the
 public. This year (2020), an estimate of 4.5 billion people who have access to the
internet has been listed. It has transformed from being a ‗want‘ to becoming one of
the necessities for daily living. However, even if the internet has provided ease and
connected people through the web, it still has its own pros and cons. Addiction and
isolation is one disadvantage the people have to be wary of and thus it is deemed
important to be discussed in this Module.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Identify the different categories of internet addiction;
2. Determine causes of internet addiction and isolation;
3. Illustrate understanding in preventing antisocial internet behavior

LESSON PROPER
Internet Addiction
According to Hartney (2020), researchers have already formulated the diagnostic
criteria of internet addiction but it is not yet an officially recognized mental disorder. There are at
least three types of internet addiction specified by Hartney.

such as: 1)video game addiction; 2) cybersex or online sex addiction; and 3) online gambling addiction.

1. Video Game Addiction

 It is a compulsive or uncontrolled use of video games, in a way that causes problems
in other areas of the person‘s life.
 It is often considered as a form of computer addiction or internet addiction and has
been an increasing concern for parents because it has become a commonplace and are
usually targeted at children.
 It includes computer games, console games, arcade machine games, and even cell
phone, including advanced calculator games.
 It can be embedded in social networking sites, such as Facebook and Google.
 One can be said to have a video game addiction if one has spent a considerable
amount of time in video gaming and if it takes over as the person‘s main way of coping
with life, foregoing and neglecting other important areas of life.

2. Cybersex or Online Sex Addiction

 It describes a group of activities that has one critical thing in common – taking place
over the internet or another electronic work.
 Simply saying, it is fundamentally virtual and does not involve personto-person physical
contact.
 It can be an activity for one, two, or even more, and can be anything from sending a
sexy text to exploring the use of sex toys.
 Although the interaction is purely virtual and has no risk of transmitting STDs, one
must note and should be aware of the possible loss of privacy if the materials they share
 are passed on to others. Cybersex can lead a person to have online scandals which can
possibly infuse loss of self-confidence and to some extent, depression. Furthermore, it is
important to be aware of any local laws that may be relevant to cybersex activities.

3. Online Gambling Addiction

 In order to fully understand the meaning of online gambling addiction, let us first
determine the meaning of problem gambling .
 Problem gambling involves the continued involvement in gambling activities, despite
the negative consequences. It is any gambling that disrupts your life. If one is
preoccupied with gambling, spending more and more time and money on gambling, or
gambling despite having serious consequences, then that person has gambling
problems or is involved with problem gambling.
 Gambling addiction is then an impulse-control disorder in which victims cannot control
the impulse to gamble despite the fact that it is causing problems in their lives, including
the lives of their loved ones.
 All gambling addicts are problem gamblers, although not all problem gamblers have
gambling addiction.
 Many things contribute to gambling addiction including but is not limited to biological,
genetic, and environmental factors.
 Although this is defined in general, online gambling addiction happens when the
person is gambling online or through the use of the internet. The same gambling
characteristics and behaviour patterns can be seen on a general gambling addict as well
as an online gambling addict.

Categories of Internet Addiction

Another author, Hing Keung Ma (2011), categorized internet addiction into five different
categories such as:
1. Cybersexual Addiction – the addicts spend a lot of time on adult websites for
cybersex and porn.
2. Cyber-relationship Addiction – the addicts involve themselves heavily in online
relationships.
3. Net Compulsions – the addicts exhibit obsessive gambling and shopping, also
called as compulsive online gamblers and shopaholics.
4. Information Overload – the addicts display compulsive web surfing and database
searches.
5. Computer Game Addiction – the addicts are obsessive online game players.

Symptoms (Hartney 2020)

 1. Excessive Use of the Internet

2. Withdrawal – too much dependence on the internet that shows anger, tension and
depression when internet is not available

3. Tolerance- wanting and needing more and more computer-related stimulation

4. Negative Repercussions – (e.g. social interaction suffers, academics suffer, sleep deprivation

Characteristics of Internet Addicts (Hing 2011)

1. Excessive Use of the Internet – spends more than triple number of hours in internet use
compared to non-internet use
2. Obsessive Thoughts About the Internet- preoccupied with the internet (thinks previous
online activity and anticipates next online session)
3. Pleasant Feeling in Internet Use – having a lot of fun by using internet
4. Tolerance – needs to use the internet with increased amount of time in order to achieve
satisfaction
5. Diminished Impulse Control – tends to lose control of own behaviour (e.g. unable to cut
back or stop internet use)
6. Withdrawal – refers to unpleasant feelings when the internet is being stopped or cut down.
7. Impact on Daily Life – sometimes risk loss of significant relationships, educational or
career opportunities because of the internet
8. Parental and Family Interactions – spends less time with parents and other family
members.
9. Friendship and Romantic Relationships – less friends and romantic relationships
10. Health Problems – less healthy and less willing to seek medical attention
11. Academic Performance – grades negatively related to internet use
12. Lonely Character
Internet Isolation
Addiction can bring about isolation – being disconnected to the real world due to internet
addiction. This makes a person antisocial and might cause delinquent internet use. Hing
(2011) lists major antisocial and delinquent behaviour of adolescents such as: 1) general
deviance (theft, alcohol use, cheating on exams, and coming to school late; 2) drug use; 3)
defying parents; 4) antisocial acts against one‘s teachers or school authority; 5) socially
undesirable sexual activities; and 6) aggressive or hostile acts (bullying and fist fighting).
These six listed antisocial.
ibehaviour are the ones adolescents do in the real world. The following then are regarded as
antisocial internet behaviour:
1. Illegal Downloading – downloading film, music or video clips without permission
2. Pornographic or Aggressive Information – obtaining pornographic, obscene, or aggressive
materials through the internet
3. Cyberbullying – use of internet to bully others especially in social media
4. Cheating Behavior – use of internet cheat others
5. Online Gambling – gambling online or taking part in online casinos (includes online poker,
online sports betting, online lotteries, and online bingo)
The antisocial behaviour of adolescents online and offline are both serious matters that need
to be attended to. Although online antisocial behaviour is virtual, the impact on adolescents is
real and affects them physically and emotionally. This brings online/internet isolation to a
serious note and must be dealt not only virtually but also behaviourally.
Prevention of Antisocial Internet Use
1. Self-respect or self-esteem
2. Respect for others
3. Social and civil responsibility
4. Global responsibility and world citizenship
5. Self-efficacy
6. Time management
7. Self-discipline or self-control

LESSON 4: SELECTIVE EXPOSURE AND POLITICAL POLARIZATION

INTRODUCTION
The internet has introduced us to different websites as well as social media platforms
that show different topics, perspectives, and situations. Social media platforms which are
most known to the world include Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Google, which is one of
the most common search engines, may also provide an individual limitless information
depending on how well an individual extracts this information. As these social media
platforms are currently on the rise, people using the internet highly rely on these for
information acquisition as well as information dissemination. However, since these platforms
are easy to use and publicly available, some individuals use it to create false information
which can produce a bad impact to the public. An example of such impact would be political
polarization. Selective exposure theory is one of the theories that is believed to explain the
belief or inclination of a certain person to a certain information or in some cases, political
polarization.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Define selective exposure and political polarization
 2. Explain the relationship between selective exposure and political polarization
LESSON PROPER
Selective Exposure
 is a psychological theory, which is usually used in media and communication, that refers to
one‘s tendency to favour information that reinforces the 51 individual‘s pre-existing views
while avoiding other information that is in contradiction of one‘s own.
Political Polarization
 Polarization happens when people become divided into contrasting groups. It usually refers
to how people think, especially when two views emerge that drive people apart, like two
opposing magnets.
 Political polarization then refers to diverging political attitudes to ideological extremes. The
most concrete example for this is the vast and growing gap between the liberals and
conservatives or Republicans and Democrats (A defined American feature). Role of Social
Media in Selective Exposure and Political Polarization In order to understand the role of
social media in selective exposure and political polarization, please read the excerpt in the
following page. _______________________________________________________
The Success of Socializing the News
Recognizing the extent to which people enjoy sharing news content, social media services
developed technology designed to make it as easy as possible to endorse news content.
Today these sharing services are deeply integrated into most major news websites—
endorsing a story on aggregators like Reddit, Tumblr, and Digg, or on social networking sites
like Facebook, LinkedIn, and/or Twitter is now as simple as clicking a prominently displayed
icon accompanying a news story (see NYTimes.com, WashingtonPost.com, FoxNews.com,
Google News, and nearly every U.S. newspaper publisher website). Users of social media
aggregation websites and mobile applications can see a list of items sorted by aggregated
recommendations, while users of social networking sites see these stories as status updates
from their contacts, all as part of the basic design of these platforms.
There is substantial evidence that this strategy of attracting users via social media is
succeeding. A 2011 study analyzing Neilsen data found that Facebook was the fastest
growing source of referrals to major news websites, while news aggregators account for an
even larger share (Pew, 2011a). Furthermore, this trend seems likely to continue: Television
and print media‘s role in conveying news is declining in favor of online/mobile media, and the
internet now constitutes the main source of news for a majority of Americans
How Social Media Shape the Media Environment
Social media shape the modern media landscape in two ways. First, because these websites
and mobile applications display content from different news providers in a single location, users
no longer need to select a news source; instead they select the story itself. This represents a
fundamental break from past modes of news consumption wherein people habituated themselves
to a trusted source—instead social media users can select news from a wide range of sources
deemed by friends or fellow internet users to be interesting or important. This suggests that
habitual de facto selective exposure (Sears & Freeman, 1967) will be substantially less common
in the context of social media.