Recommendation algorithm, as its name implies, is to use some behaviors of users to infer what users may like through some mathematical algorithms.
For example, a popular short video app——Tik Tok.
People who often use Tik Tok should find that when they are interested in a certain kind of content, the platform will push more similar videos to themselves.
In addition, because short videos are more vivid and emotional than pictures and texts, and the time of each video is often very short, it just caters to the psychological characteristics of the current public impetuous.
If you don't control yourself, you may spend an hour or two, or even three or four hours, indulging in the pleasure of short videos, laughing from ear to ear and having fun.
If a person is so obsessed with certain information, it is bound in the cocoon of information.
02.
The concept of information cocoon was put forward by Keith Sunstein, a professor at Harvard Law School, in the book Information Utopia-How People Produce Knowledge published in 2006.
Sunstein pointed out through the investigation of the Internet that in information dissemination, because the public's own information needs are not all-round, the public only pays attention to the content they choose and the communication field that makes them happy. Over time, they will be trapped in the cocoon house like cocoons.
With the rapid development of Internet, information is in an unprecedented explosion era.
However, due to different personal preferences, the platform usually pushes similar information to us according to the big data recommendation algorithm.
03.
This approach has two aspects.
Take me personally for example. As far as watching news is concerned, I tend to pay attention to national events or social hotspots. As for what happened to the so-called star network red, I'm not interested to know.
In my opinion, spending too much time and energy on so-called stars and online celebrities is undoubtedly a waste of my precious life. In short, it is a meaningless thing.
My opinion may have strong personal feelings, but that's not the point. The key point is that the platform will push me more information or information about national events or social hotspots according to my characteristics, which means filtering out what I am not interested in.
However, because of this, I am also bound in the information cocoon room.
It seems that I have come into contact with useful and interesting information, but in fact, it is not enough to get this information.
As I mentioned above, as we all know, our society is in an era of information explosion, and there is a lot of information that is really useful to us and may arouse our interest.
04.
We can't avoid the recommendation algorithm, which is the same reason that we can't return to primitive life. So how can we avoid falling into the information cocoon to the greatest extent?
This is a question that all of us should ponder deeply unless he is willing to be trapped in it.
There are both objective and subjective aspects. On the objective level, I won't go into details, focusing on how to give full play to the subjective initiative against the information cocoon room.
First, we must first form the concept of information cocoon room in our minds, and at the same time realize the disadvantages of information cocoon room.
Second, actively broaden the scope of information cognition. For example, Internet bloggers who pay attention to different fields, especially the official blogs of mainstream media, can not agree with their views or information, but can get information from them.
Third, rationally participate in the discussion of hot topics on the Internet. Think of yourself as a member of the public domain, and gain more information and knowledge through rational discussion and exchange.
Fourth, improve personal media literacy. Individual Internet users can identify the authenticity of fragmented and complicated information and share valuable information by enhancing their information discrimination ability, instead of acting as boosters of rumors and violence. A healthy network public opinion environment cannot be separated from rational netizens.
In today's society, in addition to short videos and news information, music, food, movies, KOL (opinion leaders) and other places that are easy to form information cocoons, especially online shopping, can be said to be the hardest hit areas of information cocoons, and there are countless refugees inside.
In short, whether it is recommendation algorithm or information cocoon room, we should always be vigilant and be the master of information acquisition, not the slave of information acquisition.