Logical conclusions. Or not.

Posted by MomOnMars on March 30, 2010

Well…I started writing an entirely different post today when I got distracted (no surprises there) by a tweet pointing me to this new post from social media thought leader Robert Scoble.

It’s an interesting piece on malleable social graphs, and he certainly makes some good points. I love trying out new social networks like Whrrl, Foodspotting and Miso. I get great ideas about where to go and what to do from people who like the same things I do. It makes sense – birds of a feather and all that.

However, take this to its logical conclusion and I begin to have concerns. Scoble writes “I told Facebook that I’m a liberal Democrat. So why am I still seeing Republican crap in my news feed?” He goes on, “so, its newsfeed is still presenting information to me that I might not care about and, in some cases, might make me angry.”

And here is where I stumble. Are we creating a society that can no longer tolerate differing opinions? By being able to pull only that information with which we agree, are we becoming one-sided, shallow individuals?

Scoble goes so far as to define “REAL friends.” Caps all his. “You know, the ones that are like you.” Yikes. Why would I want to surround myself only with friends who are like me? Doesn’t my life become richer for knowing and enjoying people who aren’t like me? I may not agree with someone, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be his friend. More likely – I should listen even more closely. I might (gasp) learn something.

I want my kids to grow up in a world where they not only welcome differing opinions, but seek them out. And yet, we seem to be going in the opposite direction. Don’t like someone’s opinions? Just block them. Looking for validation of your own viewpoint? Google it. Want to know what shoes to buy? Instead of doing your own research into quality, just check out to see what your networks are doing and follow along.  Trust someone else’s opinion. It’s okay. They are just like you, so they are probably right.

Yikes.

Has critical thinking become a thing of the past? That scares me. How about you?

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  • http://overtonecomm.blogspot.com Kami Huyse

    You make such a good point here. I think that as awesome as social media and networking is, it can really make us myopic. And critical thinking skills are even more important than ever. I am really trying to teach my kids to think more critically so that they can be ready for the environment they will find themselves in.

    I once forced myself to listen to country music for an entire month because I hated it and was reflexively never listening to it all. I then did the same with rap music. In each case I learned some appreciation (though neither genre is my favorite). I think it is the same with ideas, you need to listen to even those you vehemently disagree with in order to gain the perspective necessary to be intelligent about your arguments and convictions.

    Thanks for sharing this, really thoughtful stuff.

    • http://www.sabusykids.com MomOnMars

      Thanks, Kami. It’s a bit of my soapbox, or platform, as it is. And one of my greatest concerns of the ease of information available online. It’s so easy to just unfriend people and find those who agree with you. It was easier to control when the kids were younger. As they’ve aged, it’s becoming harder and harder to expose them to differing opinions. I find I really have to work at not only identifying those differences, but then work with the kids to get them to engage in positive, respectful ways while disagreeing. It’s too easy for them to disengage with a smirky response and move on. It’s exhausting some days!

  • http://www.rootreport.com/ Lauren Vargas

    Wonderful post. I find my most reflective moments occur when I have such a violent or passionate reaction to what another is saying or doing and I must examine why I reacted that way. Forcing yourself to look at an issue from another’s perspective is uncomfortable, but needed in critical thinking. This behavior is not being encouraged in the silos that are popping up daily. Such lemming-like behavior is nothing new, but the ideas and trend is more wide spread with technology. We have to discipline ourselves to step out of our box and teach the next generation to do the same.