Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make Our Platforms Less Polarizing
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-09 16:17:26
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Christopher A. Bail
- ISBN：0691203423
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A revealing look at how user behavior is powering deep social divisions online--and how we might yet defeat political tribalism on social media
In an era of increasing social isolation， platforms like Facebook and Twitter are among the most important tools we have to understand each other。 We use social media as a mirror to decipher our place in society but， as Chris Bail explains， it functions more like a prism that distorts our identities， empowers status-seeking extremists， and renders moderates all but invisible。 Breaking the Social Media Prism challenges common myths about echo chambers， foreign misinformation campaigns， and radicalizing algorithms， revealing that the solution to political tribalism lies deep inside ourselves。
Drawing on innovative online experiments and in-depth interviews with social media users from across the political spectrum， this book explains why stepping outside of our echo chambers can make us more polarized， not less。 Bail takes you inside the minds of online extremists through vivid narratives that trace their lives on the platforms and off--detailing how they dominate public discourse at the expense of the moderate majority。 Wherever you stand on the spectrum of user behavior and political opinion， he offers fresh solutions to counter political tribalism from the bottom up and the top down。 He introduces new apps and bots to help readers avoid misperceptions and engage in better conversations with the other side。 Finally， he explores what the virtual public square might look like if we could hit reset and redesign social media from scratch through a first-of-its-kind experiment on a new social media platform built for scientific research。
Providing data-driven recommendations for strengthening our social media connections， Breaking the Social Media Prism shows how to combat online polarization without deleting our accounts。
In an era of increasing social isolation， platforms like Facebook and Twitter are among the most important tools we have to understand each other。 We use social media as a mirror to decipher our place in society but， as Chris Bail explains， it functions more like a prism that distorts our identities， empowers status-seeking extremists， and renders moderates all but invisible。 Breaking the Social Media Prism challenges common myths about echo chambers， foreign misinformation campaigns， and radicalizing algorithms， revealing that the solution to political tribalism lies deep inside ourselves。
Drawing on innovative online experiments and in-depth interviews with social media users from across the political spectrum， this book explains why stepping outside of our echo chambers can make us more polarized， not less。 Bail takes you inside the minds of online extremists through vivid narratives that trace their lives on the platforms and off--detailing how they dominate public discourse at the expense of the moderate majority。 Wherever you stand on the spectrum of user behavior and political opinion， he offers fresh solutions to counter political tribalism from the bottom up and the top down。 He introduces new apps and bots to help readers avoid misperceptions and engage in better conversations with the other side。 Finally， he explores what the virtual public square might look like if we could hit reset and redesign social media from scratch through a first-of-its-kind experiment on a new social media platform built for scientific research。
Providing data-driven recommendations for strengthening our social media connections， Breaking the Social Media Prism shows how to combat online polarization without deleting our accounts。
Reviews
Terry
，
I really enjoyed this。 It's easy to read and well researched。 Honestly， I was hoping for an easy fix， and there isn't one。 And parts are pretty disturbing， how easily swayed people are。 However， there are some constructive solutions offered -- moderates， unite！！ I really enjoyed this。 It's easy to read and well researched。 Honestly， I was hoping for an easy fix， and there isn't one。 And parts are pretty disturbing， how easily swayed people are。 However， there are some constructive solutions offered -- moderates， unite！！ 。。。more
Chance Lee
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Illuminating！ Although he does advise people to not del
Mark Knight
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Really helpful book to understand the polarization of social media and the extremism that fosters it。 Not sure his solution will happen or can happen but such a helpful book none the less。
Ann
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An academic and sociologist uses the extensive data aggregated by platforms to analyze political polarization in social media - is it reflective of the entire society？ Controlled experiments designed to further analyze behavior provide a convincing picture of polarization - in reality and in social media。 Concluding chapters describe a platform that using different algorithms could facilitate meaningful discussions， but would unlikely be commercially successful and sustainable。 Very academic app An academic and sociologist uses the extensive data aggregated by platforms to analyze political polarization in social media - is it reflective of the entire society？ Controlled experiments designed to further analyze behavior provide a convincing picture of polarization - in reality and in social media。 Concluding chapters describe a platform that using different algorithms could facilitate meaningful discussions， but would unlikely be commercially successful and sustainable。 Very academic approach - more than 50 pages of notes in a 230 page book！ However， it makes clear that there is much to be studied， sociologists will continue to try to make sense of what is happening， and there is a lot of data out there that describes our collective and individual behaviors。 。。。more
Jonathan Song
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Chris Bail summarizes the efforts of his organization， the Polarization Lab， to attempt to identify the reason for the sharp disagreements and platforms for extremists that exist on the digital landscape of social media。 On this Bail challenges（quite effectively） the notions that Big Tech is solely responsible; research indicates that like social media; not all as it appears to be in terms of culpability and that we must be forced to examine that the individual is to blame in much of what happen Chris Bail summarizes the efforts of his organization， the Polarization Lab， to attempt to identify the reason for the sharp disagreements and platforms for extremists that exist on the digital landscape of social media。 On this Bail challenges（quite effectively） the notions that Big Tech is solely responsible; research indicates that like social media; not all as it appears to be in terms of culpability and that we must be forced to examine that the individual is to blame in much of what happens online。 Bail uses the stories of a wide range of individuals; liberals and conservatives， moderate right and left， young and old， to hammer the point of how the creation of a social imaginary online is hardly compatible to the person in real life， and how breaking the social media prism might online come when we deplatform identity to ideas， and instead invoke honest discussion through anonymity。While Bail's research is a must read， the solutions he proposes are less compelling to see themselves as workable given the integration of our current social imaginary into the modern-day culture。 Bail even admits much as so; monetization and engagement which builds social media companies is the double-edged sword that brings audiences yet fuels extremism。 The alternative Bail is suggesting; a social media that is anonymous and brings together nuanced tempered dialogue， does not attract the user base of the masses。Perhaps the better question for us to consider that Bail is asking us to see in the data， is how the social imaginary is creating not simply false identities of who we really are， but also failing to allow others who disagree the ability to challenge our assumptions。 That alone should prick our conscience to consider and pull back the curtain the apps on our phones， and maybe; just maybe， stop being so quick to demonize others。 。。。more
Cathy
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This is a scholarly book that reads a little dry from time to time。 But I think it conveys important information。 The author studies polarization of political opinions on social media。 His three experiments show when you expose Twitter users to political opinions that are drastically different from their own， the users become even more firmly grounded in their existing views and often even develop slightly more extreme views。 So if you want to get out of your comfort zone and understand what peo This is a scholarly book that reads a little dry from time to time。 But I think it conveys important information。 The author studies polarization of political opinions on social media。 His three experiments show when you expose Twitter users to political opinions that are drastically different from their own， the users become even more firmly grounded in their existing views and often even develop slightly more extreme views。 So if you want to get out of your comfort zone and understand what people different from you are thinking， he recommends exposing yourself to views that are only slightly more conservative or liberal than your own。His study also shows that people with extreme political views will be more vocal about them， because it helps them establish their online identity。 They will gain followers and get retweeted， and they gain satisfaction through that。 Whereas people with moderate political views tend to not post those views at all， because they want to preserve their relationships in real life。 They don't want to antagonize their friends or family members who do post extreme views online， or get into trouble with people in their workplace who would prefer their employees to remain neutral。 Because of these two phenomena， social media has a lot more posts with extreme views than nuanced， moderate views， and people using social media may have a twisted perception of where the public stands。 He gave some suggestions on how to break this "social media prism" on public opinion。 Basically， he encourages people with moderates to post more and to find users who differ only slightly from them in their political views。 His lab's website， polarizationlab。com， provides some tools you can use to self-diagnose where your twitter handle falls on the spectrum of political views and offers two bots that will retweet such messages for you to subscribe to。 He envision one day there can be a social media platform with algorithm that automatically encourages these two behaviors。 He also had some suggestions for people with extreme views on how to communicate in a way that will be more persuasive for readers who hold different opinions from them。 。。。more
Erin Cook
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This was so interesting！ Looking at a few recent studies as well as the author’s own major one on Libs and MAGA it really shoots down a lot of myths about social media。 I’m so impressed by this， I really had no idea！ Also the thread throughout it about identity over dopamine is 👌
Lorcan Neill
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Four main takeaways from Chris Bail's insightful work: 1。 Breaking people out of their echo chambers doesn't reduce political polarization， it actually increases it。 2。 We need more moderates on social media; extremists dominate political social media content and make the platforms seems way more charged than they really are。 3。 People on the other side of the isle aren't as politically radical as you think。 We tend to greatly overestimate how politically extreme those in the other party are。 4。 Four main takeaways from Chris Bail's insightful work: 1。 Breaking people out of their echo chambers doesn't reduce political polarization， it actually increases it。 2。 We need more moderates on social media; extremists dominate political social media content and make the platforms seems way more charged than they really are。 3。 People on the other side of the isle aren't as politically radical as you think。 We tend to greatly overestimate how politically extreme those in the other party are。 4。 Thoughtful， good faith conversations about political issues can actually reduce polarization。 。。。more
Hank
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There was a lot of counter-intuitive things that their research discovered。 The fact they provide concrete ideas on how to address the problem and even tools for the reader to use themselves makes it even more interesting。 It makes their suggestions more actionable anyway。
James
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Odin: How do I triumph over chaos？Troll: Give me an eye and I'll tell you。*Odin cuts out an eye*Troll: The secret is keep both eyes open。 Odin: How do I triumph over chaos？Troll: Give me an eye and I'll tell you。*Odin cuts out an eye*Troll: The secret is keep both eyes open。 。。。more
Lucas
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Chris makes important claims and points to important solution spaces （some of which we're actively exploring at Birdwatch）。 I agree with all of his product suggestions， but am skeptical of his complete attack on the Echo Chamber effect and cynicism against previous and current work being done in the field。 In the end， it also isn't clear if he's advocating for bottom-up （user behavior） or top-down （platform redesign） solutions， and I wish it was better organized to be more effective on the peopl Chris makes important claims and points to important solution spaces （some of which we're actively exploring at Birdwatch）。 I agree with all of his product suggestions， but am skeptical of his complete attack on the Echo Chamber effect and cynicism against previous and current work being done in the field。 In the end， it also isn't clear if he's advocating for bottom-up （user behavior） or top-down （platform redesign） solutions， and I wish it was better organized to be more effective on the people who should take action。 I'm also not entirely convinced it is successful as a book。 It could use more rigorous editing （this has been a common flaw on books I've read recently: form bad puns to suboptimal chapter structures， to 50% of pages dedicated to notes）。 Could probably be just as effective as a long article on HBR， The Atlantic， or similar publications。 。。。more
Elsie
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A really solid sociological examination of American politics on social media based on a series of qualitative and quantitative studies。 The author does a great job of disproving the myth that polemical polarism is caused by “echo chambers” and rather argues that twitter in particular 1） amplifies extreme views via the fact that the minority of polemical tweeters make the most tweets 2） that people are driven to identify more strongly with one political identity to the exclusion of others so that A really solid sociological examination of American politics on social media based on a series of qualitative and quantitative studies。 The author does a great job of disproving the myth that polemical polarism is caused by “echo chambers” and rather argues that twitter in particular 1） amplifies extreme views via the fact that the minority of polemical tweeters make the most tweets 2） that people are driven to identify more strongly with one political identity to the exclusion of others so that moderates are attacked 3） political dialogue is made to be a part of communal identity building; attacking a target of ridicule （eg someone who is “canceled”） serves the purpose of community bonding and is a exercise of virtue signalling。 A lot of the ideas here weren’t knew to me but this is a short and easy book to read and well worth taking a look at！This quote basically summarizes the findings about how politics works for those who use twitter， alongside the idea that seeing opposing ideas actually can solidify extremism as one is forced to adopt and us v them narrative:“Partisan warfare， it seemed， is often more about status signalling and bonding than persuading others” 。。。more
Venky
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Shattering popular myths and in the process， uncovering some extraordinary revelations， Chris Bail’s enormously influential book， “Breaking The Social Media Prism” is a much needed antidote in， and， for bewildering times where fake news proliferates and political polarization runs amok on various social media platforms。 People hurl abuse and vitriol in 280 characters at one another， and are even ready to severe painstakingly nurtured family ties just to keep alive the embers stoking their flamin Shattering popular myths and in the process， uncovering some extraordinary revelations， Chris Bail’s enormously influential book， “Breaking The Social Media Prism” is a much needed antidote in， and， for bewildering times where fake news proliferates and political polarization runs amok on various social media platforms。 People hurl abuse and vitriol in 280 characters at one another， and are even ready to severe painstakingly nurtured family ties just to keep alive the embers stoking their flaming ideologies。 In fact， economists Keith Chen and Ryne Rohla after tracking the average length of time people spent at Thanksgiving dinner several weeks after the divisive 2016 presidential election found that Thanksgiving dinners were 30–50 minutes shorter if they were attended by a mix of people from Republican- and Democratic-leaning voting precincts。 Bail is a professor of sociology and public policy at Duke University， and also the director of the Polarization Lab at Duke。 Engaged in the study of ‘computational social science’， Bail and his team conduct studies on online political behavior。 Some of the findings thrown up by their research is， putting it mildly， jaw dropping。For example， the concept of ‘echo-chambers’ is most touted to be at the centre of all internet prejudices and biases that lead to online extremism。 Hence the exhortations by social media experts for users to ‘step out of their echo-chambers。’ But what is it that exactly happens to/with a user when she does indeed step out of her echo-chamber？ In a curious experiment， Bail and his team persuaded a randomly selected cohort of Republicans and Democrats to persistently listen to the views of their opponents。 This was with an objective to ascertain changes in attitude towards opposing factions。 The outcome of the experiment revealed an unfortunate trajectory。 People who were even moderately conservative became staunchly conservative and mild libertarians became more entrenched in their dogmas。As Bail elucidates， the phenomenon of ‘false polarization’ exacerbates existing fissures and frictions。 The term itself can be defined to mean “the tendency for people to overestimate the amount of ideological difference between themselves and people from other political parties。” For example， a national survey by the Pew Research Center from 2018 found that 55 percent of Republicans thought of the Democratic Party as “extremely liberal” while a little over a third of Democrats described the GOP as “extremely conservative。” A close examination of the data revealed that people who relied on social media to keep abreast of current affairs were prone to substantially exaggerating the supposed ideological extremism of their opposition party members。Further as Bail illustrates， this polarization also drags centrists further deep into hibernation mode。 Alarmed and astonished by the extreme positions taken by extraordinarily aggressive people （Bail gives the example of an otherwise decent and impeccably well mannered man in real life who transforms into a filth spewing monster on social media。 The man’s Twitter handle is replete with actual pictures of excrements， within each of which are placed studiously photoshopped images of prominent Democrats）， these centrists shy away from expressing their valuable opinions and defer from contributing to all meaningful discourse。 As Bail himself discloses， “70% of U。S。 social media users never or rarely post or share about political， social issues according to this new report from Pew。 A *STRONG MAJORITY* of Republicans with moderate views rarely or never post about politics。”While Bail blames convoluted algorithms predominantly for creating a polarization effect， he argues that there is room for optimism。 Bail and his team invited a random population to test out a new customized experimental social media platform called DiscussIt。 The participants were informed that they would be chatting anonymously with someone else。 What the participants were not informed was the fact that the invite code that given to them to access the platform paired them a member of a different political affiliation。 The topics for discussion were also provided upfront such as immigration or gun control。 Unlike the earlier failed experiment on echo chambers， people who used the anonymous chat app to talk about either gun control or immigration depolarized much more than people who didn’t。 That effect was even stronger for Republicans。Bail’s book is a treasure trove of details and information on seminal social science experiments。 Some meriting especial mention include:The discovery by sociologists Paul Lazarsfeld and Robert Merton of the principle of homophily。 The two professors—who had been studying how new media technologies were shaping political beliefs—observed that people tend to form social connections with those who are similar to themselves。 “Birds of a feather flock together。”German sociologist Jürgen Habermas， groundbreaking study on the role played by throbbing， teeming and vibrant salons in laying the groundwork for the systems of mass communication that emerged in the twentieth century;American Sociologist Erving Goffman’s amazing discovery that we read our social environments through a combination of verbal and nonverbal cues， including facial expressions， other types of body language， and tones of voice。Bail concludes his book by offering three practical and easily implementable “strategies” for breaking the prism of social media and its harmful refraction: “First， we can learn to see the prism and understand how it distorts our identities， as well as those of other people。 Second， we can learn to see ourselves through the prism and monitor how our behavior gives the prism its power。 Finally， we can learn how to break the prism by changing these behaviors and discovering how to engage in more productive conversations with the other side。”The most refreshing aspect of Bail’s book is the opportunity that it affords the reader for engaging in introspection。 Everyone who is not a Jaron Lanier， （popularly and universally acclaimed as the father of Virtual reality who is now a social media apostate and a recluse living under a rock） and hence who automatically happens to be a social media user can relate to the concepts and ideas articulated by Bail。 I myself got name called in a very incendiary vein a few days ago just for posting a clarificatory remark on the page of an acquaintance。 That remark was， by no stretch of imagination， either a rebuke or a reprimand。 A mild riposte perhaps。 Such an unexpected jibe induced a spontaneous resolve never to post on that acquaintance’s wall henceforth。 But on hindsight， there might have been a better manner in which I could have conveyed my thought process， not in terms of sincerity， but in terms of subtlety at least。 But in line with the hope exuded by Bail in his book， there will come another opportunity。 。。。more
OjoAusana
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*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Interesting book， i live （and always have） in a conservative echo chamber （i am not conservative） so， this was worth the read to at least be able to tell myself the people i know really are extremists lol。 bumped the score up to 4 from 3。5。
Kit Ledvina
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Really interesting take on the role social media plays in social life and politics。 There’s a lot of great info to be learned here about the hot topic of social media “echo chambers”。 While some of this work is intuitive， other parts gave reason to pause and think again about how I look at social media。
Chris Boutté
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