Is public opinion really public opinion or is it "our" public opinion? By this I mean is it the public opinion of the "friends" that we have or follow on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
In recent years our social world has changed and increased dramatically. We are no longer confined to the social circles that live in our same city or that we see on a regular basis.
The technological determinism of social media has changed the way we see our reality. Our reality is skewed, to include the delusion that the "friends" we have on our social media sites actually care about our lives and our opinions. If our "friends" like our opinion status they will share it with their "friends" and so on. Facebook has allowed for a widening of "public opinion" that has never been seen before. Before Facebook to get your opinion heard you had to write a letter to the editor then if someone liked the opinion they read they might have liked to the people sitting next to them in the room; however, with Facebook and other social media outlets the spreading of opinions is much broader, some might say out of control.
Because we have fallen into the false sense of security thinking that because those on our "news" feed express the same opinion as we may have we think that it must be the majority opinion thus validating, albeit falsely, our feelings of being correct in our opinions. Through this process we have lost our ability to think critically. We no longer take what is being said with a grain of salt and do our own research. If someones opinion, which they claim is based on fact, mirrors our "feelings" of being right we don't do research we just take it at face value. We then come to rely on said people for our news and we base our future opinions on whatever they say. Not only do we lack in critical thinking but we fall victim to group think, which almost always leads to making horrible decisions.
On the issue of gay marriage in Utah, in my opinion, (I have not done any studies so it is strictly an opinion not based on fact) the polarization of the opposing views came from group think and the lack of critical thinking. For both sides. Here in Utah unfortunately there is a polarization in almost every aspect of life, and it stems from this polar, you are either LDS or you are not. If you are LDS then you must think the same and have the exact same opinion as everyone else that is LDS. If you are not LDS then you can only think one way and have the same opinions as those who are not LDS. This has been made worse through the controversy of gay marriage. There is a huge problem with group think and lack of critical thinking on this particular issue.
Because Facebook and our mobile devices have made information available to us almost at will, we are able to come together instantaneously. Protests or Rally's can be organized quickly and very efficiently, with almost no effort or planning beforehand. Basically a "if you think this way come and rally or protest with us, who cares if you know the facts". Through social media there is also a call to action that when it goes unheeded it can cause embarrassment. All of your friends can see if you acknowledged a rally or protest that would align with your beliefs (mainly what they think you should believe because its what they believe) and if you ignored it there is this cloud of disappointment over your "friends" because you are either a jack Mormon or you don't care about others. When in reality you are refusing to take part in group think and believe in critically thinking before jumping into some protest or rally that you know nothing about.
The technological determinism of social media has changed the way we see our reality. Our reality is skewed, to include the delusion that the "friends" we have on our social media sites actually care about our lives and our opinions. If our "friends" like our opinion status they will share it with their "friends" and so on. Facebook has allowed for a widening of "public opinion" that has never been seen before. Before Facebook to get your opinion heard you had to write a letter to the editor then if someone liked the opinion they read they might have liked to the people sitting next to them in the room; however, with Facebook and other social media outlets the spreading of opinions is much broader, some might say out of control.
Because we have fallen into the false sense of security thinking that because those on our "news" feed express the same opinion as we may have we think that it must be the majority opinion thus validating, albeit falsely, our feelings of being correct in our opinions. Through this process we have lost our ability to think critically. We no longer take what is being said with a grain of salt and do our own research. If someones opinion, which they claim is based on fact, mirrors our "feelings" of being right we don't do research we just take it at face value. We then come to rely on said people for our news and we base our future opinions on whatever they say. Not only do we lack in critical thinking but we fall victim to group think, which almost always leads to making horrible decisions.
On the issue of gay marriage in Utah, in my opinion, (I have not done any studies so it is strictly an opinion not based on fact) the polarization of the opposing views came from group think and the lack of critical thinking. For both sides. Here in Utah unfortunately there is a polarization in almost every aspect of life, and it stems from this polar, you are either LDS or you are not. If you are LDS then you must think the same and have the exact same opinion as everyone else that is LDS. If you are not LDS then you can only think one way and have the same opinions as those who are not LDS. This has been made worse through the controversy of gay marriage. There is a huge problem with group think and lack of critical thinking on this particular issue.
Because Facebook and our mobile devices have made information available to us almost at will, we are able to come together instantaneously. Protests or Rally's can be organized quickly and very efficiently, with almost no effort or planning beforehand. Basically a "if you think this way come and rally or protest with us, who cares if you know the facts". Through social media there is also a call to action that when it goes unheeded it can cause embarrassment. All of your friends can see if you acknowledged a rally or protest that would align with your beliefs (mainly what they think you should believe because its what they believe) and if you ignored it there is this cloud of disappointment over your "friends" because you are either a jack Mormon or you don't care about others. When in reality you are refusing to take part in group think and believe in critically thinking before jumping into some protest or rally that you know nothing about.
