Blog #10 - EOTO Illusory Truth Effect

 The Illusory Truth Effect. What is it? "The Illusory Truth Effect also known as the illusion of truth describes how, when we hear the same false information repeated again and again, we often come to believe it is true." (The Decision Lab). With the political climate of today's world and the news coming from different sources and backgrounds, this is in play more than ever. 

 The Illusory Truth Effect was first discussed in a 1977 paper by Lynn Hasher, David Goldstein, and Thomas Toppino. Hasher, Goldstein, and Toppino’s work was the first to demonstrate the power of repetition on belief. They worked in a lab having college students read a list of statements both true and false every two weeks and rated how accurate they believed the statements were. Over the three sessions, the participants rated both true and false statements as more accurate. Later studies would go on to demonstrate that the illusory truth effect occurred even when people had knowledge about the claims they were evaluating. 

 So why does the Illusory Truth Effect have a big impact in today's society? Interest in the Illusory Truth Effect grew in the late 2000s and 2010s, as the internet and social media became more and more important for breaking information to masses of people. It became a particularly popular research topic after the 2016 US Presidential election when questions were swirling about the influence of foreign countries on the results of the election. Research showed that the illusory truth effect most likely played a role in people’s acceptance of false stories on social media and on different news outlets such as CNN or Fox News.

Ever since President Trump took office in 2017 and during his campaign in 2016, the term "Fake News" has been everywhere. It also caused a lot of people to question whether the news they were receiving was really the truth or if it was just what they wanted to believe. The internet is a gold mine for false rumors, conspiracy theories, and outright lies, and none of us are immune to seeing them. According to a study published in the journal "Science", on average, false stories reach 1,500 people six times faster than true stories do. They’re also 70 percent more likely to be retweeted than real stories. Because of social media's influence on us and how often people use it, it is inevitable that all of us will encounter "fake news" at some point, and in fact, we probably do so on a very regular basis. This alone puts us at risk of the illusory truth effect.

 Clearly, the problem is not a lack of awareness when looking at the news, people know that unreliable information circulates all over the internet. It seems that people just don’t believe that they would ever fall for those stories and believe false information. It’s important to be aware of the illusory truth effect, and other things that may affect our judgment. When reading or watching the news wherever you may get it,  think a bit more critically about the information you are receiving and question whether you find that information to be true or not. 

Blog #9 - Digital Age TED Talk

 For this week's blog, I watched Christopher Soghoian's TED Talk about people listening in to your phone conversations. The opening line of Christopher's talk got my brain moving quickly. To open his TED Talk he stated, " For more than 100 years, the telephone companies have provided wiretapping assistance to governments." I kind of had an idea that people from the government could always tap in if they wanted to but I never knew that it has been going on for that long. It's crazy to think that you could be talking to a spouse, child, or friend having a private conversation, and some stranger working for not just the US Government but any government could just tap in and listen. But it isn't just the government that could tap in and listen, a hacker, criminal, or stalker could tap in and listen as well. Soghoian talks about how there are surveillance systems put into place by the telephone companies but not from Silicone Valley companies. Although Christopher mentions that over the last couple of years, Silicon Valley companies have built strong encryption technology into their communications products that make surveillance extremely difficult. Christopher says to control whether these encryption tools will be used by the good or bad guys Soghoian says networks need to be built as secure as possible. He ends his talk like this "We need to use these tools. We need to secure our telephone calls. We need to secure our text messages. I want you to use these tools. I want you to tell your loved ones, I want you to tell your colleagues: Use these encrypted communications tools. Don't just use them because they're cheap and easy, but use them because they're secure." I support Soghoian on his stance. Even though it may mean for now that police have a tougher time catching criminals, in the long run, the privacy of your personal life will benefit. 

Christopher Soghoian TED TALK

Blog #8 - Snapchat through the Lens of Diffusion Theory

People in today's society are all aware that there have been innovations in technology that have been transcendent to our daily lives. The innovation of new technology has come very rapidly due to a theory called Diffusion of Innovation which explains how, why, and what the rate new ideas of technology spread. A great example of this theory are the four major social media sites people use today which are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat which were all invented within a seven-year period (2004-2011). The Diffusion of Innovation has four main elements that influence to spread a new idea which are the innovation itself, communication channels, time, and a social system. The four social media platforms were all created right after one another due to the Diffusion of Innovation.

Take a look at Snapchat for example. Before Snapchat, an innovation of sharing photos had already been established. With the innovation already established that also meant that the communication channels were already in place for a new application of the innovation that is sharing photos. Clearly, all of these social media sites were not invented all at the same time so it did take extra time for Snapchat to come into its own because it is different from sites like Facebook and Instagram. Then came the part where Snapchat needed to adapt to the social system, which was falling for the new technology that is social media but wanted something that could give a user more privacy since other sites were known for not having much privacy. What made Snapchat such a hot commodity during its launch was that the app's purpose was to create a privacy-focused messaging app where you can view a message or a picture once and then it goes away forever. This is widely considered as an innovation but it also adapts to the social system because users were able to get the privacy they were looking for on social media with the innovation of Snapchat.

Blog #7 - EOTO What did I learn?

  In class, we heard many presentations covering many different inventions that changed the way humans communicate to this very day. One thing in particular that caught my eye is the progression of the mobile phone. 

  It was amazing to see how the phone progressed from what it started out as to what it is today that we all know and love. One thing I learned from this presentation that I was completely unaware of was how the idea of the mobile phone came from a car phone. To be completely honest I had no idea that cars even had phones built into them back then. It was also amazing to see the minor but major technological advancements that are basic in phones today. From the first phone to have wifi capabilities, to the first colored display, even to the first phone with a camera, we take all of these things for granted in our cellphones today but when they first came out to the world it was a very big deal. 

 Cellphones are maybe the most recognizable object in today's society. The technological advancements that the mobile phone has gone through have made them what they are today and why they are so wildly popular all over the world. 

Progression of Mobile Phone

Blog #5 - Free Expression

Free Speech is one of the most valuable rights we have as Americans. This week, we learned about the eight different theories scholars use to describe the importance of expression for Americans. After reading through each one and why it is so important and valuable, I seemed to resonate with number seven the most.

 The seventh value of free expression is to Promote Innovation. This was written in Living Originalism by Jack Balkin. This theory suggests that when individuals are allowed free speech, they are more likely to be more energized, creative, and interactive. Personally, I believe this is very important for every individual in this world especially with social media playing a big part in everyone's life. I believe that social media has an influence on all of our lives. It is a place that can be someone's best friend or worst enemy. But social media is a place where people all over the world can connect with one another and engage in many diverse and interesting ways. The freedom of speech that all Americans have make social media platforms such as twitter and facebook very interesting places. People all over the world are on these social platforms but with the freedom of speech we have here in the states, Twitter and Facebook have become places for people to engage in many different conversations about many different places. People on these social platforms discuss things that range from politics to music, to sports and even video games. 

 Although some posts may receive negative criticism from different users, our freedom of speech allows people the opportunity to express how they feel on certain topics and issues. For example, just recently comedian Bill Burr got some harsh criticism from people on the internet for his monologue on Saturday Night Live (Bill Burr SNL Standup). These social media platforms allowed people from all over the world to communicate and be interactive with one another to talk about the incident from SNL. 

 These social platforms also allow people to be creative and show off their talents. For example, one of my best friends Spencer Hazen, uses his twitter and instagram accounts to show off his graphic design work he does. His account for these designs has gotten him some well deserved attention and even a job. Our freedom of speech has allowed not just Spencer but millions of Americans a chance to express themselves, engage with others, and be more interactive. 

 Overall, I believe that the most important theory that scholars use to describe the importance of expression for Americans is to Promote Innovation. Throughout this year, we saw how important the freedom of speech and expression is to Americans and how much it should be valued. 

Blog #6 - EOTO Twitter

 When you hear the word Twitter used in today's society, you probably just assume that it is people talking about something the president said to the world. Or maybe about how something that one news network tweeted is something different then another news network tweeted. Possibly about something that just happened in the sports world. But why was twitter even created in the first place? How did it grow to the mega social media platform it is today? Twitter is a social media platform that changed the way people communicate around the world.

 Twitter was founded in March of 2006 by a group of people working for a company named Odeo. Those people are Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams. Odeo was originally a podcasting company based out of San Fransisco but was quickly driven to the ground when something you may have heard of called iTunes hit the world with a built-in podcasting platform. These people at Odeo originally created Twitter to be an SMS service for people to use with their friends. Little did they know it would turn into the app it became today. After some changes within the company over the next few years, Twitter went public as a company in 2013. When it did, the company had more than 2,000 employees and more than 200 million active users. It was also valued at $31 billion dollars.

 Twitter has 330 million monthly active users and 145 million daily active users. On Twitter, 63 percent of all users worldwide are between 35 and 65. More than 20 percent of all US internet users access Twitter at least once per month and 40 percent of Twitter users carried out a purchase after seeing it on the social media empire. But what do these numbers have to do with anything? It shows how Twitter has taken over the internet. Even though it has less active users than other platforms such as Facebook it has more mainstream media attention than other apps.

But why is Twitter so helpful and important in today's society? Twitter allows news networks to get breaking stories out quickly to masses of people, it can allow small businesses to market their products, it allows people from all over the world to be able to communicate with one another, it allows world leaders to communicate to his/her people, and it can also allow major sports teams/leagues to connect with fans. Those are just a few of the things that Twitter has done for people not just here in the United States but all around the world. That right there is why Twitter is massive. It allows people to talk and communicate all around the world. That is something that not Twitter but social media as a whole. It is a pipeline for communication for everyone around the world.

So that small company in San Fransisco that created Twitter as a side project created one of the most popular social media platforms to hit the internet. It has created news stories, controversies, laughs, and memes that will last everyone who uses it a lifetime.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/twitterlaunches

https://www.oberlo.com/blog/twitter-statistics#:~:text=There%20are%20330%20million%20monthly,are%20between%2035%20and%2065.

 

Blog 4 - Antiwar Voices

Antiwar voices have been around for years and years, but have become hidden from the general public and mainstream media. On the website, Antiwar.com, we see many different articles that discuss current events. Personally, I have never heard of this website and I feel like I haven’t because this website isn’t the first thing to pop up when you search current news. If you take a closer look, you can see that many of these articles are discussing current topics, but with different information. Some of these articles are also focusing on non-American news, which is something that you do not normally see in mainstream media unless it was an event that had an impact on the United States. I also noticed a bunch of articles about the military, Trump, and smaller countries. Another website, theamericanconservative.com, writes about similar ideas and values like Antiwar. This website’s news articles are mostly about politics and opinions about politics. As I looked more and more into this website, I found more and more articles about personal opinions.

After looking at these websites and reading some of the articles, I realized that I had never even known that these sites existed in the first place. I believe that these websites are not as well known because of the opinions that are discussed. Most mainstream media websites have to remain neutral and nonbiased to prevent any discouragement from viewers and readers, even though that is not really the case. Most people want their voices heard, especially antiwar voices, but now they seem to be hidden and put on the backburner, similar to what they went through in the Progressive Era. Hopefully, in the future, more voices and opinions will be heard and respected.