Explore challenges related to technology and social media
Scenario
The opinion editors at the Los Angeles Times would like to do a better job representing a diverse set of voices. Lately they’ve felt the opinion section (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. has been ignoring the views of younger adult readers (e.g. “milennials”, recent high school grads, single unmarried adults, college students, etc.). This is why they’re reaching out to you—they want to hear your perspective on the problems facing Southern California, the nation, and the globe.
Task
You will write a 1,000-word op-ed that will appear in the Los Angeles Times. The editors want you to explore issues related to technology and social media, areas they feel that someone your age is uniquely qualified to address. Still they want to give you a little freedom in terms of topic.
Above all, they want your article to be feel current, fresh, and relevant to readers of the Los Angeles Times, so their first piece of advice is to follow the news. Visit the LA Times (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. or any other credible news source to get a feel for what’s happening in the world related to how information technology is shaping the way we interact with one another in ways big and small.
If you need more guidance, feel free to think about the following areas as you browse the news and reflect on your own writing interests:
● ideological diversity and segregation ● bias, motivated reasoning ● democracy in a digital age ● truth and misinformation online ● “the Library of Everything” ● online conversations ● the future of social media ● hard vs. soft news ● extremism online ● online consumption of news ● filters, filter bubbles, social media algorithms ● echo chambers
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/
http://www.latimes.com/
http://www.latimes.com/
http://www.latimes.com/
http://www.latimes.com/
If you want to veer way off this list, the editors ask you get in touch with them to get prior approval.
Formatting
The Los Angeles Times editors caution you from approaching this task like “the academic papers you probably do in class.” They encourage you to learn a little more about the genre of opinion pieces/op-eds through a helpful article by one of the editors (“Op-Ed, explained” (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.) and a general web search (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. so you can appreciate how op-eds may differ from genres of writing you have done in the past.
They also recommend that you get a feel for style and audience of the Los Angeles by spending time on the site. You should also look at the opinion sections of many major newspapers, cultural websites and magazines like The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and Slate, to name a few.
Sources
Given the nature of your article, the Los Angeles Times expects a mix of outside evidence and personal experience. They’re okay with personal experience as long as you back things up with some sort of proof.
At the bare minimum, they request that you incorporate evidence from at least two credible outside sources. Since these editors do not know you very well yet, they also ask that you send them a brief email describing the sources and how you used them (like in an annotated bibliography).
Grading
Two initial drafts will be due at the end of Weeks 7 and 8, respectively. The final draft will be due at the end of the quarter as one of the required essays of the Final ePortfolio. Your writing will be evaluated holistically according to the guidelines in the following rubric:
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-oe-pages23oct23-story.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-oe-pages23oct23-story.html
https://www.google.com/search?q=opinion+piece
https://www.google.com/search?q=opinion+piece
=========choose one from the below news sources========== Geltzer, J., Geltzer, J., Boyle, A., Mayerfeld, J., Wright, A., & Easterly, et al., (2018). It’s Not a Filter Bubble. It’s a Filter Shroud. [online] Just Security. Reference: https://www.justsecurity.org/54262/its-filter-bubble-its-filter-shroud/ The news is attractive and it interested me because it involves a discussion of the filter bubble that everyone appears to be trapped within. Evidence from the article indicates that the individualized user experiences that we have on social platforms and even Google are tailored to our needs but limit us from getting a contradicting discussion or opposing motions of a particular aspect. According to Geltzer, Geltzer and his co-researchers, the problem is that these individual experiences filter out content that we do not appear to have looked up before or subscribed to, and this becomes challenging especially because no one else is able to see what we see because they also have an individualized experience on these platforms. Personally, I have developed an opinion that the filter bubble is not being viewed correctly, in particular, because no one is able to consume all the news content at the same time, hence even if the algorithms try to develop an individualized user experience, all the content is still available if one needs it. The story relates to the previous class topics such that it shows how the filter bubbles and echo chambers over the internet are brought into action, thereby influencing political beliefs and even causing polarization. Robson, D. (2018). The myth of the online echo chamber. [online] Bbc.com. Reference: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180416-the-myth-of-the-online-echo-chamber
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180416-the-myth-of-the-online-echo-chamber
The news from BBC is another interesting article relating to the aspect of echo chambers and filter bubbles within the internet but also dictates that these concepts are misunderstood to the point where they are taken too far. This is what interests me more about this article because it examines how the aspects are being considered and presents ideas that the same are taken too far. The matter is up-for-debate as the article argues of the largeness of news within the potentially limiting sites while citing factors such as better results. The individual user experience is not locked to just specific sites in the history but it has options where users can opt to find information from other publishers. The article even sites statistical findings of the same (Robson, 2018). I have already developed an opinion of supporting the matter and this is because I think that the individual experiences are much more efficient and effective for content consumption. The previous class topics about echo chambers also relate to the findings and outcomes of this studies, which is an indicator that it was important for learning. BostonGlobe.com. (2018). Twitter to try to measure echo chambers, intolerance on service – The Boston Globe. [online] Reference: https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/07/30/twitter-try-measure-echo-chambers-intoleran ce-service/9YIYvtfVmFJlWSJXrvVyhO/story.html#comments Online interactions at twitter are among the most famous social connections that people have and the onset of filter bubbles limiting interaction of users and other news in their platform. This is an interesting aspect especially considering how widely Twitter is used by different people in conveying information and for reading news. Personally, I see the matter being up-for-a-debate because twitter platform uses complicated algorithms to determine the data that is actively shown to the consumers in the feeds as the system waits for the users to search for various items. Therefore, being an automated system, the algorithm will only select what it deems essential for the user despite what the news are (BostonGlobe.com. 2018). Furthermore, it will show friend lists for interaction depending on who one actually communicates with mostly. Therefore, it should not be criticized for being real and efficient in what it does. This is why my opinion is towards supporting Twitter and its algorithms which is not in any way doing the wrong thing but is actually improving the communication options and preferences of the individuals using the platform. The story relates to the previous class topics such that it shows how the filter bubbles and echo chambers over the internet are brought into action, hence influencing political beliefs and even causing polarization.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/07/30/twitter-try-measure-echo-chambers-intolerance-service/9YIYvtfVmFJlWSJXrvVyhO/story.html%23comments
https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/07/30/twitter-try-measure-echo-chambers-intolerance-service/9YIYvtfVmFJlWSJXrvVyhO/story.html%23comments
