Andy's Blog

So, by now, we all know that social media creates "echo chambers" or news and social feeds that can reinforce extreme views and beliefs.

How does this happen though? What is the algorithm doing? Are you sure you want to know?

I'm back on Facebook.
Now, before you get that look on your face, let me also note that I'm a FB Ghost. My profile only contains the items that are required to register and I have zero friends. I turned off all of the available settings to find me and it isn't possible to send me a friend request. So, now that look on your face probably looks puzzled. Let me explain.

I've been noticing that I spend a lot of time online. I don't have a lot of social media accounts to manage but nonetheless I've been feeling like the time I've spent wasn't worth much. Sure, I've started some discussions on topics I think are important and I've learned a lot from other's point of view, but what has the net balance to all of this online perusing been? Did I really gain anything or add to the world in any meaningful way?

What is all of this?!?

Every few years I reevaluate the big picture. Yes, "what does it all mean?" is in that list but generally this is more of a state of the union style overview. I begin with questions such as "How is my life progressing?", "Do I still believe X or Y in the same way I once did?", and "Why am I doing X?" and somewhere along the way, life changes course a bit to account for the lessons learned or to challenge assumptions made.