Discussion:
READ: Pew Research Center's "News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2017"
You must WATCH:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOocxd9qGHA&list=PLG71L9NdwMH1KE7iMzQuw7PlzG-Uq29No
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swBF6x-2A2k
Q1. What percentage of US adults say they get news from social media feeds like Facebook? What happens to the news feeds on our social media when we ‘like' or ‘de-friend' someone, because of the algorithms these sites and programs use? What is a ‘media echo chamber,' and how do social media feed such echo chambers?
Q2. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, how has the distribution of Americans' political views changed between 1994 and 2014? How have the views of members of one party regarding the other party changed over this time, and by 2014 how many of each party say members of the other party are actually a ‘threat to the nation's wellbeing'? Why does this matter?
Q3. How are media echo chambers affecting the range of viewpoints people are encountering in their lives? What impact is this having on our political system? Why is this a problem for the kinds of reasoned discussion and debate a democracy needs in order to function?