by Gina Catanzarite, Director, Teen Writer!
Let freedom ring. . . and let civility and respect ring with it
The Greek philosopher Aristotle said, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
The Greek philosopher Aristotle said, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
But after a presidential primary and election season that
experts are still struggling to define, studies reveal the United States of
America is suffering from extreme political polarization.
Worse, a majority of respondents to a Pew Research Center
survey said they feel fear, frustration and anger over the viewpoints of others
— and that survey included people from both major U.S. political parties. (Click to see the survey here)
They feel fearful and yet. . . did they really make the
effort to speak directly to the people who hold the opposing viewpoints over
which they feel such heated emotion? Or,
did they form their biases based on what they saw in the media?
Much has been discussed recently about fake news in the
media and it’s true that we do need to refine our media literacy skills – but we
also need to examine our own media diets, i.e. the information we seek, click,
“like,” and share on our own.
Are you broadening your mind, seeking diverse opinions and
new ideas. . . or, are you simply seeking out media that validates what you
already feel and believe?
It’s a growing problem and credible research shows how that
kind of narrow media diet damages our world view and our relationships.
In the book Blur: How to Know What’s True in the Age of
Information Overload, authors Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel addressed journalism
of affirmation: A new political media that builds loyalty less on
accuracy, completeness, or verification than on affirming the beliefs of its
audiences, and so tends to cherry-pick information that serves that purpose.
And, in multiple studies, including this one and
summarized here researchers found that social media contributes to
narrow-mindedness because users tend to fill their social streams with
information and opinions that feed only their narrow interests and beliefs,
rather than seeking new ideas, interests, events, or diverse viewpoints.
Authors of the study say this creates an “echo
chamber,” which “comes at the expense of the quality of the
information and leads to proliferation of biased narratives fomented by
unsubstantiated rumors, mistrust, and paranoia.”
Journalism of affirmation. . . The social media “echo chamber” . . .
We live in the Information Age, with unfettered access to
information, to others’ viewpoints, to new ideas, and to diverse opinions. At what point did we stop broadening our
minds and start digging in our heels, passionately indulging our own positions
without making the effort to fact-check what we read or entertain the ideas of
others?
When Luminari was founded more than eight years ago, we
carefully crafted our mission statement to be clear that our goal was to foster
activities that broaden minds. In this volatile political climate, broadening
minds just may begin with broadening our media diets in order to avoid the
“echo chamber” that hinders civil discourse, robust debate, and respect for
all.
- Gina
Read more about it:
Blur: How to Know What’s True in the Age of InformationOverload by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel
Ten Questions for Fake News Detection from The News Literacy
Project
***
Gina Catanzarite is Owner of Arania Productions. She is the Co-Author of
two non-fiction books and Teaches broadcast journalism at Point Park
University. And is an Emmy award-winning television Producer, Writer, Family
Advocate and Media Consultant.
