Blog 8: The Information Diet and its implications for my practice and student learning
Blog 8: The Information Diet and its implications for my practice and student learning
When I
first read the book, one thought stuck out:
“There is no such thing as
information overload. It’s not the total
amount of information, but your information habit that is pushing you to
whatever extreme you find uncomfortable.”
This thought resonated through the rest of what I read. I am in control of how much time I spend, what I spend my time doing, including what I’m actually spending my time looking at.
So many of the thoughts expressed in the book are really frightening. Reading how much the media is manipulated. The information we are given via the major networks has been spun to reach the majority. It’s not about accuracy, but about what will catch the viewers. Money wins out over truth. Our own tendencies to informational bias. We read/watch what we are most comfortable with. Again, a frightening thought, “Once we grow biased enough, we lose the capacity to change our minds.” I like to think I’m open to others’ ideas; That I listen to a variety of opinions, but, do I? Am I trapped in the same cycle of opinion? Churnalism. Because of the need to produce news quickly and frequently, the unchecked production of facts that are really “alternative facts”. They’ve been made up! Unresearched. Just copied from an unreliable source and put on the Internet. I think of all of the health information I’ve read, some of it fantastic in its implications, almost certainly a product of both media manipulation and churnalism. Lastly, the implications of all the tracking that now goes on. The sites we visit are recorded in a “big brother” way so we are purposely being fed more of the same. Our present opinions aren’t being challenged because, behind our backs, there is a system feeding us the sources that will agree with whatever we already search. “When we tell ourselves, and listen to, only what we want to hear, we can end up so far from reality that we start making poor decisions.”
This thought resonated through the rest of what I read. I am in control of how much time I spend, what I spend my time doing, including what I’m actually spending my time looking at.
So many of the thoughts expressed in the book are really frightening. Reading how much the media is manipulated. The information we are given via the major networks has been spun to reach the majority. It’s not about accuracy, but about what will catch the viewers. Money wins out over truth. Our own tendencies to informational bias. We read/watch what we are most comfortable with. Again, a frightening thought, “Once we grow biased enough, we lose the capacity to change our minds.” I like to think I’m open to others’ ideas; That I listen to a variety of opinions, but, do I? Am I trapped in the same cycle of opinion? Churnalism. Because of the need to produce news quickly and frequently, the unchecked production of facts that are really “alternative facts”. They’ve been made up! Unresearched. Just copied from an unreliable source and put on the Internet. I think of all of the health information I’ve read, some of it fantastic in its implications, almost certainly a product of both media manipulation and churnalism. Lastly, the implications of all the tracking that now goes on. The sites we visit are recorded in a “big brother” way so we are purposely being fed more of the same. Our present opinions aren’t being challenged because, behind our backs, there is a system feeding us the sources that will agree with whatever we already search. “When we tell ourselves, and listen to, only what we want to hear, we can end up so far from reality that we start making poor decisions.”
The
book is a real eye-opener! The hope is
in my initial sentences. Now that I know
the challenges that are out there, I need to control the time I spend. I need to track what I’m watching and make
sure I include good sources, including some that challenge my present
thinking. This, of course, is where the
Information Diet actually kicks in. “Respect the content providers that
consistently provide us with good info-nutrients by sticking only to those
providers, and avoiding everything else.”
A huge
task, but one to start on. It feels like
a frightening mountain of things to change.
I plan to start with timing myself.
I know I tend to waste a lot of unthinking time, both with TV and doing
computer tasks. It’s easy to get lost
so I look up and wonder where the time has gone. I can certainly start timing myself to get
some of the lost hours back to useful time.
. I need to be aware of
sources. Avoid the major news networks
and their biases and choose news that is closer to home. I’m not sure where to find truly local
news. This is something I’m going to
need to research. I get a very local
paper, put out by my neighborhood, but it doesn’t include much real news of the
U.S. I know I also want to know what’s
going on the world, overall. I can’t be
completely mindless of global issues. I
think that’s an issue of balance. I want
to make a conscious effort to include more diversity. I know I’ve gotten stuck in a rut, in terms
of what information I consume. This one
is only difficult because of my reluctance to change!
I’m not
sure that I will go as far as to follow the “Conspiracy in Six Steps”. I will likely talk with my colleagues about
what I’ve read, and offer to share the book.
I’ll probably share some of the ideas with my students. Beyond that?
I don’t know.
Isn't interesting that we used to make fun of the National Enquirer and all of those fake news stories but once people put it on the internet then it becomes true. It seems to me that's all it really boils down to, like you said, we control what we watch, listen to and read. I've started on my journey in hopes to practice what I need to preach :)
ReplyDeleteThis book has certainly been an eye-opener for me as well. I especially found the sections on affirmation interesting. Being aware of your own biases an accepting others’ opinions is key. One does not have to agree with opinions that are different than his/her inclinations, but it is important to evaluate the other side for gaps in the logic of either side. Overall, it sounds like you have a great plan moving forward. Sharing this book with your colleagues is a great idea! It is a great read for anyone working with information consumers.
ReplyDeleteI also found the Information Diet eye-opening. I guess that the biggest takeaway for me is realizing how important it is to monitor one’s media consumption habits, as a first step to doing something about it. It was also revealing to learn about our need for assurances, and how we tend to shut down anything that does not align with our opinions. It’s definitely something that I feel we should make our students aware of.
ReplyDeleteI feel that helping others be aware of their own media consumption habits is a very important first step to fight information obesity. I definitely plan on sharing the book with friends.
With the current political climate it certainly is terrifying the power the media has! But being aware is the first step. Once we are aware, we can begin to share the awareness with our students, and we can develop a plan to help break our information obesity. My mind was blown by the whole email apnea thing...not breathing regularly while you're checking emails. But it makes sense. I think about my students and their phones, if they hear a phone vibrate that "dopamine high" is alerted and they all feel the need to check their phones...it's a chain reaction that they really can't control!
ReplyDelete