Facebook has been in the news lately for reinforcing preconceived notions and contributing to information bubbles. That's because the algorithm loading your feed is programmed to give you more of the same kinds of things you've shown interest in before. It's not the only social media platform to do this, and all kinds of websites are glad to recommend that you read "more like this." You can understand why they do that, but without some effort, you'll end up being recommended the same subjects over and over until you may begin to think that's all there is. Clive Thompson calls that "a form of intellectual monocropping." This applies to more than just politics or pandemic information. If you are into crocheting, football, veganism, or Marvel comics, and you keep following recommendations, you can end up missing out on a lot of the other things that the web has to offer.
Of course, you, being a Neatorama reader, have varied interests and already know that the internet is more than just social media. However, you may want to try some new ways to expand both your web surfing and offline interests. Clive Thompson has put a lot of thought into this, and gives us nine methods he uses to get out of a rut and into something fascinating you wouldn't have considered otherwise. -via Kottke
(Image credit: Flickr user Jennifer C.)
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