The internet: A massive, world-spanning network of nodes and wires. The perfect tool for connecting with anyone, anywhere, at any time.
Starting from simple messages passed back and forth between UCLA and Stanford, the internet has since exploded in a technical fireball that has consumed our daily lives. Ideally, we could use this great gift of science to connect with different world views and hear different perspectives.
I am not here to demonize the internet because it still has a benefit to mankind that cannot be overstated. However, instead of seeking new information and challenging views of different people, we instead search for friendly pockets of internet — our own little personal bubbles; a virtual safe-space.
Anyone can post a blog to the internet and say anything they want. Many organizations with dubious or, at best, less-than-truthful goals can set up a commanding web presence and a convincing web page. Two people on completely opposing sides can both pull “sources” from the internet, with “facts and studies” that seem to support their worldviews.
Consider the debate over climate change. Person A says, “You know, I think climate change is a real danger, it seems that organizations like NASA, NOAA, even the Department of Defense seem to say it is.”
Person B “doesn’t believe in climate change." Person B says, “Well, that’s all well and good, but I also have sources from the internet,” and begins to share websites best known for promoting pseudoscience.
This sort of warring over “what is a good source and what isn’t” distracts from the problem: We can’t even begin to have civil discourse if we can’t agree on the facts. We cannot find solutions to our problems when we can’t agree on what’s true.
We no longer seek the truth; we seek out facts that agree with our views. Unfortunately, it’s poisoning political debate.
“I think it makes (debating) really hard,” said David Wells, professor of political science at ASU.
I’m sure you’ve seen this on any number of internet comment boards. Conservatives and liberals hurl insults at one another with words like “LIEberal” or “redneck zealout.”
“There’s a fundamental level of disrespect,” said Wells. “Not only does someone have a different view, not even a person. They’re degraded.”
Look at news media outlets. There are the gold standards: The New York Times, The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, etc. These organizations can be relied upon to deliver information to us as truthfully and accurately as possible. They’ve earned that trust over hundreds of combined years of reporting.
Some, though, will dismiss those sources because they’re “mainstream media," and assume they have a liberal bias. To combat this, these people choose to get their news from less-than-reputable sources. They seek sources like BreitBart, Rush Limbaugh’s radio show, and others that would more accurately be compared to tabloid journalism.
However, this is hardly just a conservative problem. Liberals are just as guilty.
During the primary elections earlier this year I heard progressive liberals denounce sources like the New York Times for being “crooked." Instead, they preferred to get their news from some random Huffington Post blog, written by “some guy” and devoid of an ounce of objectivity.
Unfortunately, these sources look like news websites. The articles are structured like traditional news stories. They have sources and quotes, and now all of a sudden you can use these outlets as “news I agree with.” You assume that you have found a news site that “tells the truth,” and without realizing it, you’re slipping into an entrenched worldview.
The longer we spend arguing facts, the longer we delay solutions to our problems. Leave your internet safe-space. Get news from sources that lean a different way. Understand an argument from both sides.
Only then can you make an informed opinion.
Reach the columnist at cjwood3@asu.edu or follow @chriswood_311 on Twitter.
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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