26 Sep Media Echo Chambers: See How the Other Half Thinks

Why You Should Make Cross-Cutting Content a Part of Your Media Diet

Written by Bryan Szabo

7 min read

When many of us joined the world of social media, we were promised a global village. In the newly connected world, online communities were supposed to serve as a new and expanded marketplace of ideas. The monopoly of content and commentary would be broken. Our content choices would no longer be made for us.

As our networks grew, we were supposed to broaden our outlooks and expose ourselves to new perspectives. We were supposed to see how the other half thinks.

Instead, we’ve closed ourselves off in self-contained bias bubbles. We’ve built ourselves echo chambers and sealed ourselves off from opinions and perspectives different from our own. Rather than creating broad consensus through dialogue, we’ve created increasingly polarised communities. We’ve found a kind of consensus, but it’s not the broad agreement we had hoped for. Instead, we’ve created communities in which we preach almost exclusively to the already converted.

Recent research has confirmed this. When scientists examined the content-consumption habits of 376 million English-speaking Facebook users, they found that content consumption was dominated by “selective exposure”. Users avoid cross-cutting content (i.e., content that presents opinions contrary to those of the reader), choosing instead to seek out “sources that reinforce their existing opinions”. Rather than testing and tearing down their biases, most users are reinforcing them.

How Diverse Is Your Global Village?

We might be connected to people from every corner of the globe, but it’s worth asking ourselves just how diverse our global village really is:

How often do we see how the other half thinks?

As easy as it might be to blame Facebook’s, Twitter’s and Google’s algorithms for our increased isolation from contrary opinions, the tech giants are only giving us what we’ve asked for (or at least shown a preference for). The echo chamber is the result of our choices about whom we connect with, whom we interact with, and what we click on. The algorithms reflect these decisions. They don’t make them for us.

If we want to see how the other half thinks, we need to expose ourselves to well-argued pieces that make arguments very different from the ones we are used to. To diversify our global village, we need to seek out cross-cutting content.

5 Good Reasons to Seek Out Cross-Cutting Content

#1. It helps us see the world in shades of grey

Inside the echo chamber, it’s all too easy to think in absolutes. But the world isn’t black and white. When we convince ourselves that it is, this skews our perspective. We fall into in-group/out-group thinking, making devils of our adversaries and angels of our allies. Even if it doesn’t change our minds, exposing ourselves to cross-cutting content might help us see the world less in black and white and more in shades of grey.

#2. We can see our own biases for what they are

It can be hard to admit that we are all biased in some ways. Our biases shape our opinions, pushing us towards agreement or rejection. We might be biased against certain sources or certain authors, or we might be biased in the other direction (giving our trust to authors or organisations without fact checking). The minute we encounter cross-cutting content that makes sense to us (even if only in part), we can start to see just how much our biases keep us from understanding why those we disagree with argue just as passionately as we do.

#3. We can check our privilege

Our beliefs and biases are rooted in our personal histories. Whether we are looking up or down, left or right, our position on the social and economic spectrum colours our perspective. To better understand each other and ourselves, we should seek out content at the opposite end of the spectrum. Inside the echo chamber, it is nearly impossible to see the world (and ourselves) through others’ eyes. By stepping outside of the echo chamber, we can check our privilege, recognising that our social or economic status might be leading us to take much for granted. As long as we read with an open mind, cross-cutting content guides us towards the realisation that the truths we hold to be self-evident might not be true for all people or in all places.

#4. We can better understand (and critique) contrary positions

Exposing yourself to cross-cutting content doesn’t necessarily have to change your mind (especially not your deeply held beliefs). Quite the opposite. Many of those who read against the grain do so to shore up their arguments. By understanding our opponent’s position, we can show that we are willing and able to wade into the complexities of the issue. When we have looked at the problem from perspectives other than our own, we can show that we can sympathise, even if we can’t agree.

#5. We can reduce the risk of alienating our audience

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: our content choices matter. I’ve argued above for a broader approach to consuming content, but our content choices are particularly important when we are creators of content. Inside of the echo chamber, we find choruses of nodding heads. Outside of it (and you can be sure that a portion of your audience is outside of it), consensus is more elusive. Make the wrong assumptions about what your audience takes for granted and you risk alienating members of your audience.

Peeking Over the Fence

It is surprisingly easy to see how the other half thinks. If you lean left (as I do), find a source you can trust that leans right (and vice versa). If the content you consume is clearly addressed to the haves, seek out content that has the have-nots in mind (and vice versa). Whatever you take for granted, seek out content that challenges these assumptions.

None of this content needs to fundamentally alter your position, but it should give you a more nuanced understanding of each issue. Remember, it’s not about switching teams; it’s about playing a game away from your home stadium.

How to Find Cross-Cutting Content

As a recent New York Times op-ed pointed out, Facebook’s algorithms are not designed to be neutral. Quite the opposite, they are designed to be viral, spreading quickly among like-minded users. This means that finding cross-cutting content on your social media pages can be next to impossible.

To make our feeds more balanced, we would have to change whom we connect with and how we engage with social media content—a herculean task to be sure. We can tell the algorithms that we want to see more cross-cutting content by clicking on articles we would normally dismiss, but it’ll be a long time before our feeds shed their biases.

If we want balance, we need to look outside of the echo chamber. I tend to look at my social media feeds as a ship that has already sailed. I lean to the left, and so do the majority of my networks. When I’m seeking balance, I’ve got to look outside of my network.

I try to do this regularly. As a general rule, I try to make cross-cutting content 10% of my media diet.

Finding it is relatively easy. If you lean liberal, a quick Google search for “conservative commentary” or “right-leaning news sources” will give you a good idea what you’re missing. The Guardian recently provided an excellent list of right-leaning sources of news and commentary.

If you lean right, dip into a few issues of The New Yorker, Slate, or Huffington Post (the last of these has an Australian edition). When reading against the grain, try to keep an open mind. Remember that the goal is to understand and, if possible, to sympathise.

By making content from the other side of the aisle a part of my media diet, I’ve found myself able to resist the pull towards hyper-partisanship (the almost inevitable result of a steady diet of biased content). It also dramatically reduces my risk of offending or alienating my audience. I can’t please all the people all the time, but I can show that I have made every effort to comprehend perspectives other than my own.

A Balanced Media Diet Means More Than One Source

Trusting a single source almost always translates to a biased perspective. While many sources claim to be “fair and balanced” (Fox News recently discarded this much-mocked slogan—and with it all non-partisan pretence), a truly balanced source (be it a network or a content mill) is as rare as hen’s teeth in today’s world. If you trust your social media feed or a single content source, you’re only ever getting one side of the story.

My advice (and this should come as no surprise) is to read more. Explore the broader world of content outside of the social media echo chamber. Read from a wider range of sources and seek, if not agreement, at least understanding.

See how the other half thinks, and try to see the world through their eyes.

You’ve only got your prejudices and biases to lose.