Personalization is Bad?
When you log on to the Internet, where do you go? Since you are reading my blog, I’ll assume that you do get on at least occasionally to fairly regularly. Besides my awesome blog (*shameless self-promotion*), what other sites do you go to? How long do you spend on those sites?
If you are a frequenter of cyberspace, I’m guessing you check your email, which might lead you to other links of funny videos, news reports, etc. Then, maybe you go on Facebook or Twitter, or your other favorite social media outlet of choice, and from there you might also be led to more funny videos, news articles, links to other sites, etc. shared with you by your friends. Perhaps you have several favorite blogs or YouTube channels that you catch up on that discuss things that interest you, which again might lead you to other places in the World Wide Web that you might like. Maybe you have to do some online shopping, so you get on Amazon.com or your search engine of choice to do a search for the particular item you are looking for, and most often (and especially on Amazon) you’ll find your item and others like it along with other items people like you also purchased with that item.
As creatures of habit, many of us have a routine that we follow when we log online. For me, I log on to MSN.com, browse through their main slideshow of random news topics, headlines, and interest pieces (if anything interests me, I open it in another tab to read later), log in to Hotmail to check my email (deleting, responding, and opening links in new tabs as necessary), go to Google to log in and check my Gmail (again deleting, responding, and opening links), and then I go to Facebook and Tumblr (browsing and commenting etc.), read all of those tabs I had opened (or glance at if I have since lost interest in reading it), and then back to Google where it is now my own iGoogle page with things I like on it.
My iGoogle page
This is my daily routine when I get online. And as you can tell, most of what I have picked for myself has been things that I like, that I find an interest in, and that apply to me. I have found an increasingly easy ability to personalize my Internet experience, as I’m sure you have found to be true for yourself as well.
However, through the ever increasing personalization of the Internet, we continue to remove ourselves from the majority and create fragmentations in our society—a very dangerous outcome according to Cass R. Sunstein in Republic.com 2.0. In it he describes all of the dangers to freedom and government that can come about if we continue to create niche markets for ourselves. Because in order to maintain a strong democracy we must have the following:
First, people should be exposed to materials that they would not have chosen in advance. Unplanned, unanticipated encounters are central to democracy itself…. Second, many or most citizens should have a range of common experiences. Without shared experiences, a heterogeneous society will have a much more difficult time in addressing social problems. (p. 5-6)
If we continue to personalize our communication, we will not be exposed to differing opinions and unanticipated arguments that we need to progress and cause change. Likewise, if we do have common experiences between us, we will not have common ground with which to start a basis for action. Sunstein argues that
When society is fragmented in this way, diverse groups will tend to polarize in a way that can breed extremism and even hatred and violence. New technologies, emphatically including the Internet, are dramatically increasing people’s ability to hear echoes of their own voices and to wall themselves off from others (p. 44).
While we have found this to be true in some cases—that we are echoing our own opinions and beliefs when we continue to only associate with those that are of the same opinions and beliefs and continuing to create extremes (Tea Party, anyone?)—I think Sunstein is all too reluctant to point out that meeting with people of the same opinion is not inherently dangerous and to be avoided (Civil Rights movement, anyone?). I understand he wants to make us aware and cautious of how we use the Internet and the resources there in, but I’m not sure we will ever receive a fully personalized Internet/communication/media experience. I realize I can’t predict the future and I may be having to change my tune, but while we associate with things we like on the Internet, we will always come across unplanned and unanticipated things because (luckily) we are not all the same. While we might have similar views, there are still things we’ll disagree on. AND because we still live on Earth, there are things we’ll still experience together, be it locally, nationally, or globally.
Of course there are risks to government with the Internet (as there are with any new technology and media), but we can still experience what Sunstein is afraid we’ll lose because of it: unplanned encounters and shared experiences. And by finding, through the Internet, those that are of the same opinion, which Sunstein fears might result in an echo chamber that causes nothing but extremism and violence, people can ban together to promote or protest a cause or policy. It is not only through a shared experience but through a shared belief that movements and activism can be brought about. While the dangers exist, I’m not sure we can fully fear them nor fully avoid them, and like Sunstein says “the Internet is hardly an enemy here. It holds out far more promise than risk” (p. 222). How those promises will be realized will depend on us.
While we can continually customize our Internet experience to our preferences, we cannot customize our friends and associations on the Internet to be exactly how we want them to be. Because of that we still have the ability to be confronted with opposing views and unanticipated articles that we can then share and discuss with others, through which freedom and democracy can continue to progress.
Besides, we all know Amazon has some pretty crazy recommendations that we wouldn’t expect:
missnesbitpro
max said,
February 15, 2012 at 10:41 am
You got an interesting selection of literature! I’m really interested in the topic of personalisation. Another interesting book about personalisation is The Filter Bubble by Eli Pariser. I think he was really inspired by Sunstein. There is a TED Talk of him: http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles.html
First I believed that they made a good point. But know I don’t know on what ground one can declare that shared experiences are a fundamental part of our society. Personalisation is not a fundamental new thing. Even if there would be total personalisation, if everyone in society just gets in contact with information that they like, why should it be a negative outcome and who has the legitimation to stop people from using facebook and google this way?
missnesbitpro said,
February 19, 2012 at 12:19 am
Thank you so much for linking that Ted talk. It was very enlightening indeed. I think when they discuss that shared experiences are a fundamental part of our society it’s because it’s those shared experiences that help us either become more nationalistic, or bond more or progress. For example, with 9/11 that experience was shared not only by the US but for the world as well, and it was because of this shared experience that our society has changed in the ways that it has (for better or worse depending on who you talk to).Of course not all shared experiences have to be negative (the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton comes to mind as a shared experience), but sadly that’s how most of them are now.
I agree with you that personalization is not a new thing. People have been clamoring for personalized things for years. I’m sure it was this demand that led Ford to make more than one color of Model T and eventually other cars. But as we’ve continually wanted personalization, what has that done to our society?
Again, sometimes I do not see personalization as a bad thing, at least in some respects to consumer products. But, Eli Praiser in his Ted talk mentions a good point, that it is not us choosing what we want and don’t want (at least not consciously), but rather these computer algorithms that are doing it for us, which I feel is something to be very cautious and weary of.
I think there are some people in the world that are okay with this, that don’t know any better, or just don’t care. However, the few of us that know the risks and dangers of being in a filter bubble and would prefer that we are not are the ones that need to demand a change or at least voice our opinions to Google/Facebook to tell them to allow us to choose whether or not we want them to filter our results and feeds.