The podcast talks about how tech companies work to keep the attention of the audience and that it is a big part of their work. It goes into how tech companies now (such as Facebook and Snapchat) gather data on people who use it in order to optimize the platform to hold their attention. The speaker compares social media to cults in the sense that it brings in all the people around you, so that you feel like you cannot not be a part of it. The podcast also goes into the phenomena of fake news and how it not only tricks people, but it takes away space from real news. Instead of focusing on real news, journalists have to work to debunk these fake news stories. The podcast then moves onto to talk about false memory studies conducted by Elizabeth Loftus which show that false memories can actually be implanted into people’s brains. She also talks about how memories change over time – people typically remember themselves having better grades, or being more philanthropic. They podcast next brings in Steve Ramirez, a neuroscientist. He conducted experiments on mice that showed that memories can be induced and manipulated. The implications of this are that in the future this can help people with PTSD or traumatic memories.
The beginning of the podcast where they talk about how social media sites optimize their platforms to users was really interesting, because I feel like this has recently become very blatant. For example, if I click an ad once on Facebook, I see ads for that company on Facebook/Instagram multiple times over the next couple days. In the past, I think this optimization wasn’t as blatant as it is now. Loftus talking about how memories change over time was also relatable because even when I look back on my own memories I always remember them in an enhanced way – more dramatic than they actually was.
My question for the class is: Is optimization on social media platforms bad? What are the implications of these tech companies having data on our preferences?
Siri's EDU 185 Blog 