Audience
The Audience dimension is the degree to which our communities influence our information seeking, information selection, information avoidance, and information usage.
Part of the problem with trying to find accurate information on current news is that we are often trapped in a filter bubble - meaning that we only read, like, and share things that align with our own belief system. It is important to challenge those beliefs and be more critical of the media we consume and share. Information and media literacy is not just a problem of or a cure for the right or left. It is an essential skill for all of us no matter where we lie on the political spectrum.
Like the Facticity dimension where we focus on Schwarz's big five criteria, we know that one of the criteria people use to decide if information is true is whether others believe it to be true.
Citation: Schwarz, N. (2015). Metacognition. In M. Mikulincer, P. R. Shaver, E. Borgida, & J. A. Bargh (Eds.), APA handbook of personality and social psychology, Vol. 1. Attitudes and social cognition (pp. 203–229). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14341-006
Addressing Audience
Who do you follow?
Most social media and search sites are powered by algorithms that take into account what you are searching for, interacting with and following. When you open a website, visit TikTok or Snapchat, you may think you’re getting the same content as everyone else. But almost anywhere you go online, algorithms keep track of what you like to click on, and what information you scroll past. These algorithms give you content based on what they think you like, and what those you follow like. Sites will continue to do so until they’re mainly showing you content you’ll likely consume. This process can lead to the creation of a filter bubble, where you only get information that is within what the algorithm thinks you need. Some find it helpful and others find it creepy.
Are they listening in?
When you visit a website, you may think you’re getting the same content as everyone else. But almost anywhere you go online, algorithms keep track of what you like to click on. These algorithms give you content based on what they think you like, and they will continue to do so until they’re mainly showing you content you’ll likely consume. This process can lead to the creation of a filter bubble, where you only get information that is within what the algorithm thinks you need. This may lead you to assume that your apps are listening in on you - conversations you've had, things that you've searched elsewhere.
We know that Meta pushes ads based on a number of factors such as those stated in their privacy policy. Looking at the list in their privacy policy, they may not be listening with a microphone, but it seems to be digitally listening based on what you use.
- Your activity or others’ activity on our apps
- Information from your Facebook and Instagram profile
- Content you create or interact with across Facebook and Instagram
- Activity from apps you use and websites you visit
Tiktok's content control policy focuses on how to manage the content that appears on the For You Page (FYP) while its privacy policy states that Ads on TikTok can be based on:
- General information: For example, TikTok might show ads for a certain mobile app if it’s supported on that device’s operating system.
- Account information: For example, the age associated with a user’s account can affect whether TikTok shows that user an ad for a car rental service available to people aged 25 and over.
- In-app activity: For example, a pet supply store might want to advertise a sale on dog toys to people interested in dogs; we might show this ad to users who like a lot of videos about dogs.
- Off-app activity: For example, a fashion brand may want to promote their summer clothing collection to customers who’ve purchased from their website or app in the past. The brand can share information with us so we can show its ads to the TikTok users we think it’s trying to reach.
Pop your filter bubble
There is no harm in deleting your search history, or resetting your FYP. There are a few other things you can do make sure you aren't just getting information designed for you.
- Understand that the filter bubble exists and that you may need to intentionally seek out opposing viewpoints on an issue you are exploring.
- Seek information from a variety of sources of which you will need to evaluate the credibility and bias
- The FTC has a great resource on how websites and apps track you online and contribute to the filter bubble
- DuckDuckGo is a web search and app that doesn't track your activity.