The power of social media to bring people together is evident. From trends like the ALS bucket challenge to climate change strikes, global online communities have achieved incredible feats that give the impression of unity. But can it also cause division among users?
Algorithms behind social media platforms curate feeds to only show what the user wants to see. Although this may seem favourable, these algorithms trap users into what is known as a “filter bubble”, or a state of intellectual isolation that shelters one from opposing views. This divides individuals online, which can even lead to division offline.
Not only does this phenomenon contribute to issues like political polarisation, social media companies invade users’ privacy to obtain data for the purpose of creating these “bubbles”. The Facebook data privacy scandal that involved the theft of up to 87 million people’s personal information by the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica is among the countless ways social media platforms exploit users.
To learn how to mitigate the use of your data, sign up for workshops at The Glass Room, a media literacy project funded by the European Commission led by Tactical Tech, on Tuesday, May 17 at 3pm at the University of Malta. The local partner is the Malta Chamber of Scientists.
Register here.