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The Impact Of Internet On Public Opinion On Society

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Today, the Internet is where society can find any type information, including the news worldwide. Companies, advertisers and online systems have personalized Internet experiences to draw in users. In other words, users are forced to read certain topics based on their search history and are recommended more of the same topics. This causes a large impact on public opinion in society, but the ability to find diverse content is more of an issue. The challenges to overcome diversity include, the user 's motivation, awareness and ability to seek for diverse content (Hoffman et al. 1). With the obstacles of filtering and web programming, are users receiving all the different viewpoints? Media content with filtering, personalization and …show more content…

Based on the user’s search history, filtering is applied in the system. Programming would find a way to determine the search, in some way, similar to previous searches. Hoffman discusses more that, “The awareness challenge lies in users ' inability or difficulty in experiencing diversity due to a lack of knowledge about the production, filtering, and consumption mechanisms at play” (3). This forces users to view only what they are given. It will have viewers looking at stuff based on their previous searches. With this in mind, users awareness of different content is becoming nearly impossible if filtering is applied.
The media is becoming more specific from large companies such as Google or Facebook, that can draw us to different sides with filtering technology for profit benefits. In Engin Bozdag’s 2013 article, he shares that personalization is a major aspect for advertisers, and can be used for online targeting for potential customers (107). There are more online product purchases than ever before, and advertisers design these online personalization systems to persuade customers (Li and Unger 623). Advertisers collect customer data to design recommendations. Bozdag also adds, “Facebook uses various profile elements to display targeted advertising including age, gender, marital status, and education” (98). These companies earn large profit with advertisements because of filtering and personalization. In addition, it

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