This is a great TED talk clip discussing the shift happening on the Internet and our need to be aware of the information that is withheld to us and not readily supplied in our own searches. Pariser makes a compelling argument in describing how the Internet at one point was viewed as a path to connecting us to the world, but how now many Internet news sources are working on personalization. He describes how this might help in our efforts to address things that are pertinent to our own individual lives, but we also must not be insulated from those things that we need to know. He makes the analogy in referring to our access to information on the Internet as both receiving information "vegetables" and "junk food" and how it is important for us to have balance.
As a user of digital media, it is critical for people to have this awareness in order to be informed users and still be exposed to bigger global issues as members of society. His appeal to Google and others is for them to write this social responsibility aspect into the code itself so that all will still have access to these bigger issues, but I still question who will decide what it important for all to see and what will still be filtered out. I believe this approach, along with a strong awareness for users is critical as we continue to educate our youth on the responsibility associated with using digital media.
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