Confirmation Bias on Social Platforms

This graph shows how people value the information present to them.

Photo credit : http://jamesclear.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/confirmation-bias.jpg

Everyone knows the amount of media consumption is off the charts. What we read on Facebook, Twitter, or even watch on YouTube helps us to conclude our own ideas. However, when we are presented with facts that may disprove our beliefs/ideas, we automatically shut it down with no consideration. This is known as confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is taking any information presented in front of you and using that piece of information to help "confirm" your standpoint on a topic.

The major problem with confirmation bias is trying to accept facts that disproves someone's belief. Of course, no one likes to be proven wrong, so it makes it harder for individuals to become lenient. Using social media has made it difficult to find reliable sources among the many news feed.

This photo shows the way people take in new information concerning their beliefs and how they choose to ignore the facts.

Photo Credit: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/378091331211163696/

Using social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter has made it possible to connect with each other easily. What use to take weeks to send a message now only takes a few seconds. However, it is very possible that we have isolated ourselves with what we are familiar with. In the article, "How Facebook Actually Makes Us More Narrow-Minded," Aj Willingham explains how Facebook users find content for a specific topic and share the information over and over again with friends. This creates a cycle of the same content being shared making the intake of new information hard. This can also be known as a echo chamber which is the repetition of of media reinforcing your beliefs within a group.

This video explains what confirmation bias is and gives examples on how we use confirmation bias

Most of the issues concerning confirmation bias stem from politics. In the election of 2016, both the democrats and republicans suffered from a variety of fake news about each other. One of the most popular of these fake news would be the Donald Trump quote from the People magazine,"If I were to run, I'd run as a Republican. They're the dumbest group of voters in the country. They believe anything on Fox News. I could lie and they'd still eat it up. I bet my numbers would be terrific."

This post had made many individuals upset however, when proven that this post was indeed fake, many people still kept the post as part of their reason to dislike Donald Trump as the upcoming president.

This photo is an example of the fake post about the Donald Trump quote to the People magazine.

Photo credit:https://www.aol.com/article/news/2016/11/09/truth-behind-the- donald-trump-quote-from-1998-thats-rapidly-going-viral/21602449/

In any case, the disease that is social media's confirmation bias can be cured. One of the best ways to overcome confirmation bias in social media is to always keep an open mind. Even though this idea may seem hard, it can be very helpful to come up with alternative ideas about a topic. Another way to not fall victim to confirmation bias is to expect to be proven wrong. This can help you to create another solution about your beliefs without being 100 percent wrong or right.

Is it wrong to fall for the same beliefs as your friends? No, of course not. However, falling for confirmation bias is not the best thing, especially when all of the facts presented are proving you wrong. Not to say that you should not believe everything you see on social media but also look for ways that the information is wrong. Do some extensive research and gather your thoughts to create the best conclusion you can.

This photo gives an example of how confirmation bias is presented to the viewers on social media

Photo credit: http://theday.co.uk/technology/research-reveals-facebook-echo-chambers