The Daily Me and the Individualization of Information

After our class discussion, I wanted to find the reference for the "Daily Me" and the idea of what the web becomes when you customize to an extent that you never see alternative viewpoints.  The originators of these ideas - Nicholas Negroponte of MIT and Cass Sunstein of Harvard - discuss the dangers of living in an echo chamber where information merely confirms your prejudices and biases rather than opens your mind to new ideas.  They argue that when you do not have the ability to run across information you would not have sought out otherwise (e.g. reading an article in a newspaper, catching a documentary on public television), people become more polarized and unchanging on the views they already held.  Technology, as Professor Sunstein argues, gives us an abundance of information and an abundance of ways to close your ears to information you do not like.

A terrific op-ed by Nick Kristof of the New York Times outlines these views.  There is also an interesting article by Samantha Power that shows a fantastic personal story of what happens when you do not have a filter delivering all of your news.  (Full disclosure: In my previous life, my job was as the author's Research Associate.  I factchecked this article.  This could be why it left a mark on my brain.)