ERIC Number: EJ1225010
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 2
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0037-7724
EISSN: N/A
Social Bubbles: How They Prevent Students from Seeing Different Perspectives on Historical Events and Social Issues
Risinger, C. Frederick
Social Education, v80 n2 p111-112 Mar-Apr 2016
In this article, C. Frederick Risinger begins by describing insights from an article entitled, "Trapped in the Bubble." It reported on a doctoral student's study (along with other students and faculty in Indiana University's School of Informatics) which demonstrated that the more people rely on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and similar sources for the news, the more they are likely to get trapped in a "collective social bubble." The research showed that people who get their news from social media had less diversity than those who use search engines such as Google or Bing. The researchers found people tend to click on sites and stories they agree with and "Rather than finding news alone, people are sharing it among like-minded people." Risinger asserts that students need to be encouraged and shown how to look at historical and contemporary issues and arguments from all perspectives. To do so, teachers need to show them how to see beyond their own social bubbles. This will help to prepare them for more knowledgeable and thoughtful citizenship in this nation's democracy. Herein, Risinger offers some websites and programs that can provide ideas and resources as teachers guide them in this quest.
Descriptors: Social Problems, History, Doctoral Students, Information Science Education, Social Media, News Reporting, Search Engines, Information Sources, Information Literacy, Citizenship, Democracy, Web Sites, Student Research
National Council for the Social Studies. 8555 Sixteenth Street #500, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Tel: 800-683-0812; Tel: 301-588-1800; Fax: 301-588-2049; e-mail: membership@ncss.org; Web site: http://www.socialstudies.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Indiana
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A