Constructing The Echo Chamber: Constructivism in Social Media Use

*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina

As we enter the third school year under the presence of the Covid-19 global pandemic there is a narrative of acclimating to a “new reality”.  What has been overlooked by some administrators is that, for many of their staff and students, their life has been operating in a new reality for much longer than they may realize; the self-constructed reality as developed by social media.  Michael Crotty (1998) defines constructionism as the stance in which knowledge is constructed by the interactions between participants and their environment with that understanding being refined and distributed within a social context.  With 25 million social media users in Canada, representing 67% of the population, social media is quickly becoming one of the leading platforms for social interaction and cultural exchange (We Are Social, 2020, p. 40).  An understanding of the how social media algorithms are constructivist designs can provide insight into the lens in which our staff and students view the world and their place within it.

The prevalence of social media has increased the availability of information as well as the opportunity to explore varying perspectives of said information.  This increase in access elevates the constructionism belief in which, “it is possible to make sense of the same reality in quite different ways” based off the interactions one has (Crotty, 1998).  One can look to the ongoing Covid-19 health guideline debates as an example of how an individual’s interactions within social media networks results in their constructed algorithm placing them in a reality in which there can be no true or valid interpretation of information.  Schlegel (2019) argues that the interactions users have on social media can result in an “echo chamber” in which one’s reality confirms a specific desired narrative leading to the illusion of large-scale support.  This concern is compounded in the classroom where educators are faced with the task of modeling and integrating digital literacy skills such as how to critique the validity of online information, which has been identified by Canadian students as one of their top desired skills (Steeves, 2014, p. 25).

It is important to recognize that each social media platform also holds their own unique culture which guides the interactions and experiences users have within that reality.  This is evident in the type of posts that are shared, the integration of multi-media elements such as filters, understood memes and trends.  Crotty (1998) emphasizes the importance of recognizing that cultural practices not only highlight avenues of information but also dictate which topics and voices are absent from the narrative.  For users that engage heavily within the reality of their chosen social media platform, it can be challenging to change their behaviour and associate with the norms of offline reality.  This divide mirrors the cultural challenges first identified by Gasset (1958, pp. 99-101) in which individuals feel conflicted from the multiple layers of interpretation placed on their experiences.  This may contribute to the fact that social media users tend to fall into two categories: those who feel relieved and recharged after experiencing a break from online use and those who feel distressed and anxious.

As we set out in our new “Covid reality” Crotty (1998) reminds us of the importance of recognizing that reality is constructed and that those around us occupy different worlds from our own.  Social interaction is occurring with higher frequencies in the online realms and understanding that social media algorithms are specifically tailored for users to construct their own reality can assist us in understanding those around us.  It is no longer sufficient to simply address digital literacy from a stance of decoding, one must also address the reality in which information is found for unique users.  As educators, we are tasked with not only recognizing the reality that we have constructed for ourselves but also acknowledging that those around us may also be coming to terms with the impact their lens has on their understanding of the world.

References

Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research process. SAGE.

Digital 2020: Canada. (2020). We Are Social. https://www.slideshare.net/DataReportal/digital-2020-canada-january-2020-v01

Schlegel, L. (2019). Chambers of secrets? Cognitive echo chambers and the role of social media    in facilitating them. EER. https://eeradicalization.com/echo-chambers-social-media-schlegel/

Steeves, V. (2014). Young Canadians in a wired world, phase III: Trends and recommendations. Ottawa, ON: MediaSmarts. https://mediasmarts.ca/sites/mediasmarts/files/publication-report/full/ycwwiii_trends_recommendations_fullreport.pdf