Post 10: One Thing I Learnt During EOTO II Presentations

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  Mr. Henry Wallace presented on the topic of the Echo Chamber. By definition, Echo Chamber is “an environment in which thoughts and opinions are killed off before new ones can form because of circulating ideas”. Here is a simple example, in an environment where everyone needs to agree that the earth is the center of the universe and people who don’t believe will be asked to leave or be punished without having further discussion, the environment creates an echo chamber. 


In a modern setting, Echo Chamber is most likely to show up in media where one is forced to believe that the mass is believing without having a discussion. In an Echo Chamber, the belief is a standard, as strict as law and undisputable; they force people to make decisions and shut out things that the standard disagrees with. Echo chambers can take place “anywhere information is exchanged” and can be widely used in propaganda and political settings. 


Echo Chamber can be hard to identify but it can be harmful and stressful for everyone in society. People who generate new ideas can also be easily trapped into Echo Chambers, especially in a digital world. To protect people from Echo Chamber, the government can create a certain degree of censorship, however, consicoincially, if there are actual laws about this, it would also contradict with free speech and free press stated in the 1st Amendment. Therefore, as normal citizens, the simplest thing that we can do is to raise our own awareness for fact-checking and critical thinking. 


Sources:

https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/digital-media-literacy/what-is-an-echo-chamber/1/.

https://hwallmedialaw.blogspot.com/2022/02/eoto-echo-chamber.html.


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