Social Implications of a Computerized Society Ch 7

Social Implications of a Computerized Society Ch. 7 Life in a digital society Instructor: Oliver Schulte Simon Fraser University

The Impact of the Internet on Thinking and Relationships • Information, Knowledge, and Judgment • Computers and Community

CONCERNS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY

The Luddites Industrial Revolution England • Machines displaced workers who produced at home in small machines (cottage industry) • In 1811 -12, the Luddites burned factories to save their jobs

Neo-Luddites Negative view of computer technology in general, hold that computers: • cause unemployment and de-skilling • social disintegration and isolation • harm the environment • benefit big business and government most • hurt intellectual development and thinking

How Relevant is IT? • “We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters. ” Peter Thiel, co-founder of Paypal • “Information technology changes everything except for what is important. That is still up to us. ” • “if families break up, children are mistreated, crime terrorizes a city, education is impotent, it does not happen because of inadequate information” Neil Postman

See also Democracy Divided EVALUATING INFORMATION ON THE WEB

Information, Knowledge, and Judgment Evaluating Information on the Web: • “google has replaced my brain” • Expert information or ‘wisdom of the crowd’? • Daunting amount of information on the web, much of this information is not correct • Search engines are replacing librarians, but Web sites are ranked by popularity, not by expert evaluation • Wisdom of the crowd - ratings by public of website • If millions participate, the results will be useful

Wikipedia • Written by volunteers, some posts are biased and not accurate • Although anyone can write, most people do not • Those that do typically are educated and experts (thousands) • Can be manipulated –see Colbert’s Wikiality

New Issues • Wisdom of the crowd – Problems of unreliable information are not new – The Web magnifies the problems – Rating systems are easy to manipulate • Vulnerable viewers – Less educated individuals – Children • Responsibilities of site operators – Should identify user-supplied content – Make clear which information has been verified (e. g. verified purchase on Amazon)

News • 60% of U. S. adults get news from social media (Pew Research) • Is the information stream getting narrower or broader? + More access to different news and viewpoints than ever - People select news that agrees with their viewpoints - recommendation systems select similar news items also (filter bubbles, echo chambers)

Fake News • 2016 presidential U. S. election: – Macedonian Teenagers create 100+ fake websites with click bait – St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency produced content that reached 150 M users (Facebook estimates) • 2018 U. S. midterm elections – Facebook takes down 500 pages – Trump administration accuses China of influencing elections

Toxic Comments and Replies + Comments on Newspaper articles engage readers and enhance the article - comment section is abused: - ad hominem attacks - flaming - trolling - especially for women and minority writers

Possible Solutions • Moderating comments works but is expensive • SFU research in computer assisted moderation – shows that majority of comments are constructive

Discussion Questions • What’s the most reliable source of information on the Web in your opinion? • How do you evaluate the reliability of information you find on the Web? How do your evaluation methods compare to the way you evaluate information from other sources?

COMPUTERS AND THINKING

Discussion Question • Has the internet changed the way you think? The way you read?

Writing, Thinking, Deciding Are people more intellectually lazy? • New tools have displaced skills that were once important • Abdicating responsibility – People willing to let computers do their thinking – Reliance on computer systems over human judgment may become institutionalized – Fear of having to defend your own judgment if something goes wrong

Internet and Cognition: Concerns • Reading is cultural practice, not genetic like speech. • Are we evolving towards “pancake minds” - thin and widespread? • Can we still read longer articles with concentration? – British study: internet users read 2 -3 pages out of a scientific article. – Those distracted by emails and phone calls saw a 10 -point fall in their IQ • 2018 study: people check their smartphones on average every 12 minutes during their waking hours • Is monitor reading more exhausting than paper?

COMPUTERS AND FEELING

Discussion Question • Has the internet, instant messaging, text messaging etc. improved your social relationships or made them worse? • For example, do you have more friends? Better friends? What about dating or family?

Computers and Community • Some feared early technologies, such as telephones, would de-humanize communication • Computers and the Internet were blamed for the decline in community involvement and memberships in clubs and organizations • The Internet provides communities focused on specialized interests or problems • Some evidence that it helps make contact for local people.

Computers and Community: Making Connections • The Internet brings people together from all over the world • E-mail and the Internet provide convenient and cheap ways for families and friends to stay in contact • New trends include social-networking sites and virtual environments such as Second Life • Small worlds, “six degrees of separation”, but with weak ties • Competition for friends, followers = status

Computers and Community: Criticisms (Rosen) • IT promotes efficient communication, not intimate personal communication. A tool for rushed people. • Two trends: – Transparency – Oversharing • Easy to make superficial connections; hard to develop trust. • Focus on bits and pieces of a person (where from, interests), not the whole person.

How social are social media? • Facebook: like a magic mirror that tells us we are not the fairest of our friends? • Large study in American Journal of Epidemiology • The use of Facebook was negatively associated with well-being • Do social media make you happier?

Conclusion • Neo-luddite concerns that computers are harmful – or largely irrelevant to our main problems • Is the digital public information sphere polluted by misinformation and personal attacks (toxicity)? • Does the internet change our minds for the worse? – lack of own judgement – distraction, loss of concentration • Does the internet make our relationships worse? – Less time relating off-line -> less trust – more quantity, less quality, less well-being – competition for status and attention -> more depression