*Question 1:
Honest mistakes and outright lies abound not only in the media, but also in academic peer-reviewed articles. Apply the tips to the following article: How different are the adult children of parents who have same-sex relationships? Findings from the New Family Structures Study, by Mark Regnerus (2012) –
Articles are sometimes difficult to assess, when they look very convincing and are written well. This one has an infamous past. The findings are controversial, and it has had many academics delve deeper into the definitions and the results that children of same-sex marriages do not do as well in life, as children of male-female marriages.
If you were using this article, you had better do your background research before citing it as part of your own study, campaign, story, or report. Why?
*Question 2:
Popular opinion can be driven by media reportage, which may then feedback into qualitative research, and which may then recirculate in the media, further entrenching popular opinion. Put simply, if we hear a message often enough, and where popular media reinforces this message, not only may we come to believe it, we will seek out stories about if it is messages that warns of us danger and risk. Because we seek out these stories, popular media then effectively feeds them to us. An echo chamber has developed. Many examples exist – weapons of mass destruction, Avian flu, boat people, climate change , the past Safe Schools program, fake news, and Russian meddling in elections. For example, here is an example of recent research done relating to the echo chamber and attitudes to climate change (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09644016.2018.1423909?journalCode=fenp20) .
Read the following article:
Review the article by Vincent F. Hendricks published in The Conversation. Is anyone immune to the social media echo chamber?
Reflect on your own social media use.
Can you identify an echo chamber, polarisation or an “info storm” that you have participated in or witnessed?
What critical steps could you take to avoid echo chambers and polarization?
Sample Solution
