Last Updated on 22/11/2021 by Sanskriti
The proliferation of bogus information and news, risks to privacy, the electoral process, and democracy are just a few of the main problems that scholars, politicians, and users in the United States have lately highlighted concerning the social media ecosystem. Experts spoke at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Social Media Summit about a variety of challenges as well as potential solutions. The 17-page study goes through all of the problems with social media and how to solve them.
False Information And Fake News-
Did you know that fake news and misleading information move “far, quicker, deeper, and more widely than the truth,” according to a study? Not only that, but false information is 70 percent more likely to be retweeted than true information. Algorithms on social media assist this process even further. Cracking down on repeat violators, according to Clint Watts, a research fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute, is one approach to solve this. “We know about them,” Watts said, adding that “enforcement” should focus on them for the greatest impact.
Balance Between User Privacy and Platform Transparency
The event’s organizer, MIT Sloan professor Sinan Aral, described social media as posing a “transparency dilemma.” As a result, she went on to say that not only researchers but also the general people, had a right to know how these platforms accessed and used our data. The algorithmic transparency, according to Kate Starbird, an assistant professor at the University of Washington, Researchers would be able to analyze peer-to-peer information sharing without exposing personal information, allowing them to gain a better understanding of harmful use and how to avoid it.
Regulation
He, on the other hand, is opposed to having distinct regulations for various regions of the world. This, according to Clegg, may “balkanize” the Internet, necessitating collaboration between the US and the EU in order to bring India into the fold.
The Company’s Business Model Isn’t User-Friendly
According to analysts, the social media business is based on an attention economy, which means that platforms sell your attention to advertisers. However, what draws attention isn’t necessarily healthy for users or society as a whole. As a result, a rethinking of business models away from the attention economy might be beneficial. New York University adjunct marketing professor Scott Galloway says Subscription-based models that are not reliant on advertising have been presented as a viable option. But what if the most up-to-date, fact-checked information is constantly hidden behind a paywall?
Algorithms exacerbate prejudice, bigotry, and polarisation
People use social media platforms and search engines to organize and access information, according to Safiya Noble, co-founder of UCLA’s Center for Critical Internet Inquiry. However, she pointed out that the businesses that manage these platforms aren’t necessarily bound by democratic and human rights norms, and that some of the most popular and profitable speech encourages bigotry, disinformation, and polarisation.
