The Problems with "Echo Chambers"

With the omnipresence of social media in the modern world, a phenomenon called "Echo Chambers" has become prevalent among many young minds. It refers to situations in which society is polarised due to people encountering information or opinions online that always reflect and amplify their beliefs. This is similar to real-life echo chambers in which sounds reverberate in hollow enclosure creating acoustic echoes that are amplified after each reflection creating a homogenizing effect. Large technology companies that essentially control everything that an average person consumes on the internet want to extend your watch time. To achieve this they would always show you content that reinforces your initial beliefs and also content that put a negative perspective on opinions that do not line up with yours. This will encourage you, the consumer to spend greater time on their platforms leading up better profits for the companies. To better understand this, let's say you, an average person on the internet come across a video on Twitter about how Apple phones are way better than Samsung's flagship phones which is your first exposure. Then you look into it a little more before making a purchase, but since you would come across more content that supports your first exposure, you dwell into the belief that Apple is the only right choice to make. Eventually, this leads to selective exposure to channels with like-minded people that repeat the claims that you want to hear and harmonize with you. Now, a few months later, you are surrounded by products that make up an Apple ecosystem, you follow Apple on social media, and in the future, you strongly believe that it is the best decision and don't ever think twice before making any purchase because it goes against your tribalistic ideas. 

This is particularly a problem when it affects bigger spheres of influence where the general population might adhere to seemingly epistemic practices with no particular thought process. A good example is how in the modern era the people are more politically polarised than ever before. In social media, such people tend to form social networks that often indulge in discussions that speak negatively upon the opposite party's ideologies. Due to this people are simply not ready to even give a chance to a viewpoint that may oppose their belief system. This already existed even in offline communities wherein cultural and religious views often clashed with no particular common ground. But with the advent of social media, it is reinforced to a point where people are more comfortable surrounding themself in their epistemic bubbles and filtering content as they please without ever trying to objectively judge an entity or practice. As an average person what you can do is avoid falling into these traps by simply taking a step back every now and then and trying your best to understand a viewpoint that you negatively perceive. We need to respect others' opinions even when we don't agree with them. The Internet has provided us access to a wide range of readily available information but be aware of the big picture and know that you always hold the key to breaking the shackles that society imposed on you.  

Three Dangers of Online Gaming

Gaming is fun, especially when it is with friends where you can spend time in a sociable way to prove your teamwork and dedication to complete the given game tasks. It can also help you develop some useful abilities such as quicker reaction time and concentration. But have you ever realized the level the risks that come with it? It is apparent that we must be extremely cautious and selective when deciding to spend time gaming online. It is crucial for young people to be aware of these risks that might impact their well-being. The first and foremost danger that online gaming is being isolated and exclusion from reality. Let's say due to the pandemic situation in recent years you were unable to play with your friends outside. Of course, it is was not possible to even engage in any physical activity that requires you to go outside your house so end up residing to activities that are lively and can be enjoyed with all your friends. You start playing multiplayer games that offer cloud services so that you can effectively join on the server and play to your content, complete missions together, have perfect conversations, and generally have the time of your life even in the lockdown situation. But now, that the lockdown situation has eased and we are allowed to perform regular activities like before, we still wouldn't want to go back. Why would you take the pain of doing all that when we can have a way better experience in our living rooms. This online culture leads to dissolution from reality and often leads to anti-social characteristics in people. 

An overall sense of dissatisfaction be it with poor performance in games or cyberbullying, can lead to potentially more devastating effects, especially in young minds. Cyberbullying is another huge danger that is prevalent in online gaming communities. The anonymity that online platforms offer is a perfect opportunity for people who do not care about the grief that they inflict on others. These people we can see that in many online games people try to hack and overplay which makes the games less enjoyable for common players. In some cases, these cyberbullies even target players with hurtful and harmful messages. It is important for parents and kids to understand such risks and control the amount of interaction with such forums and report such activities to the game administrators immediately.

And finally, how can we talk about online gaming without mentioning the most common problem, which is gaming addiction. It is an actual health disorder that severely detriments other parts of life that require more substantial effort. It is a direct result of the amount of dopamine that games create in the brain. Even if it is only one-tenth of the amount created by chemical substances it can be done for longer periods of time and lead to addiction very easily. This is especially a problem for adolescents because they are generally the ones who are easily isolated and fall into one or the other forms of addiction. Changing such habits require considerable effort from both the person addicted and the people that surround them. This can be done by gradually reducing the amount spent on games and simultaneously replacing it with activities that are equally fulfilling such as indoor games and athletic activities.