My Online Presence

                                     My Digital Footprint 

 

In today's blog, I will be discussing my online presence in social media. 

 

I remember when I was in the 6th grade and all my friends started to get phones. Apps like Snapchat and Instagram were fresh and new corresponding to the new iPhone releases, it was THE THING. I was the last of my friends to get a phone and almost instantly after getting it, there was like this overwhelming wave of peer pressure to download Snapchat and Instagram, of course, I gave in. I cringe just thinking of when I was trying to choose my usernames and what I wanted my page to look like on Instagram (ew). It's crazy to think that at the ages of 10 and 11 years old, kids (like my peers and I) had set up an online presence for themselves for the world to see. Today, I still use the same accounts I made back in 6th grade with Snapchat and Instagram. My original posts from when I was 11 years old are completely removed and I essentially "started my account over" without deleting it. My online footprint expands into Snapchat, Instagram, and Pinterest but that's about it. I was never a fan of Twitter and I do not own FaceBook. 

 

It's interesting to me how vast the content of Instagram can be- cooking accounts, celebrity accounts, news crews, pretty much anything you can think of is on Instagram, just search it. On my Instagram, my content consists of pictures with friends, my horse, fun trips, and even memories from High Point University. I have a "private account" so that I can control who sees my content (I have to approve individuals in order for them to see my page). It's kind of strange to me though because although someone might have a private account, you can easily type a first and last name into the search bar and boom! There's the person you were looking for. I've noticed it has been super easy to find people on Instagram because of High Point University, people will put "HPU" in their bio or you might share a friend that links you to various other people, it's a huge perpetual cycle. Without even following me, an individual could glance at my bio and gather that 1) I am a sophomore at High Point University 2) I am an equestrian, and 3) which high school I went to. It's pretty weird thinking about my own profile in the shoes of other people who don't know me. What I considered “vague” or basic information could actually be used to discover much more about me even if the person doesn't follow me or have any relation to me. 

 

Voluntarily, for security purposes, I have given Snapchat and Instagram my cell phone number and email in the event I forgot a password or needed to be alerted that my account was at risk of a breach (which has happened before and the alert was helpful). As far as providing my personal address, I avoid at all costs. It's weird because I'm sure if a big company like Instagram wanted to find my location it wouldn't be too difficult given just the three simple pieces of information I put in my bio. How comforting! 

 

I have in fact created a "fake" Gmail account to send spam emails from clothing companies or other purchases so that it would be more removed from my personal information especially if I was ordering from a website I didn't normally use. It comes in handy when signing up for subscriptions or things you generally don't need to see every day. 

 

So, I Googled myself and I was actually really surprised. There were many links with my high school track and field records, information about my time at my high school, pictures of my high school graduation, info about an award I won at my high school in a Twitter post, horseshow pictures, and even some articles I've written for High Point University's newspaper. WOW. I had no clue I had such a digital footprint on google. So even though I personally didn't post a lot of what I found on my Google search of myself, I was posted into the content of another individual's post. I guess not so private after all!

 

I have thankfully never posted anything of political charge, racism, or use of drugs or alcohol. However, I am no saint when it comes to cursing! Admittedly, I have posted a few bad words before to my main Instagram and Snapchat accounts (sorry mom). Honestly, I am pretty happy with the content that I have on Instagram and at this point and time in my life, I don't think there's anything I would want to edit or delete. The whole purpose of Instagram for me is to post pictures so I can remember the good memories I made during a certain time. I look at it as a platform to use to look back at how I've matured over time and the accomplishments I've made. I also would feel comfortable if a possible job looked at a Google search of myself, and I hope I always feel that way! I post things that I know are personal but appropriate to all audiences. I might have a private account but that doesn't mean someone can't screenshot and send my content to someone else. Always think before you post!!!!

 

https://www.snapchat.com/

https://www.instagram.com/

 

 

 

The Illusory Truth Effect (Final EOTC)

 The Illusory Truth Effect 

 

 

Hello! In my blog today, I will be discussing what the Illusory Truth Effect is, implications of it, and the meaning of it not just to me, but society as a whole. 

 

To begin, what is the Illusory Truth Effect? The Illusory Truth Effect (which is also known as the validity effect, truth effect, or illusion of truth effect) is an occurrence in which the repetition of a statement increases the belief that information is true even when it is false. The effect was first recognized in the 1977 study that took place at Temple University and Villanova University.

 

So why does the effect work? Reported by KUB's article, psychologist Lisa Fazio of Vanderbilt University explained that after hearing information a second and third time, your brain misinterprets the repetition as a signal for it being true. The fluency and frequency of the information you hear translates into a gut-feeling of truth.

I found this video from Veriasium to be explanatory and quite interesting regarding the Illusory Truth Effect, give it a watch! :

 

So, I've just defined this piece of information, why does it matter? It matters because believe it or not, you may be a victim of it daily through specifics such as company marketing techniques, politics, mass spread social media, and many other outlets in which the effect prevails. In simpler terms, The Illusory Truth Effect is also known as "fake news". This is in fact relevant to all of us given the dangers of it. A notable example of the effect most recently can be observed through fake news being spread about the COVID19 virus. Our information outlets heavily depend upon information outlets to provide us with accurate and well-presented information for the benefit of our safety but unfortunately, this has not remained consistently true. As seen in a study done by the British Medical Journal, 1 in 4 YouTube videos about the virus presented "inaccurate or misleading information". Put this in perspective - the world still has yet to fully understand the entirety of this virus, let alone when it will end, (if it will end) and our information outlets have provided misleading or false information. That's pretty alarming. Sure, people may agree that YouTube is not their most reliable source of information, but it is still a source and people obviously still believe the content. This is seen almost every day through how misinformation that goes viral via social media can lead to conflict and/or harm. As highlighted in KUB's article, "The Illusory Truth Effect On Social Media", the mass spread of misinformation has caused such a large problem that the UK government has announced the reveal of an anti-fake news unit to mediate the problem. 

 

Of course, this issue is prevalent to essentially all of society but specifically my generation. While certain social media outlets such as Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and many more have specifically taken a rise within my generation, we could definitely be responsible for the publishing of fake news. TikTok and Instagram appear to be the most popular social media at the moment, and it is easier than ever to post your thoughts, feelings, and any other information. ANY other information. There is no "filter" for false information that just removes posts from the internet at any time unless another individual reports it and becomes reviewed to be removed. With certain actions within the apps of those social media such as "reposting" or "sharing" the Illusory Truth Effect comes into play because of the fact that individuals are being exposed to the same repeated, shared information thus convincing the person to believe the information is true. Repetition is often confused for validity. 

 Ultimately, because our generation has the most insight into the most recent inventions of popular social media, we have the most knowledge about popular post trends and how to spend information through that popularity whether it be real or fake.

 

Now that we've covered that this is a prevalent issue that affects people- what segments of people does it affect specifically? Given that the majority of the world's population has access to various forms of technology, this is an issue that affects virtually everyone. Say you don't even own a phone or own a laptop, there is a fair chance that someone you know does or has had exposure to repeated, false information provided from that technology and has discussed, shared, and ultimately spread it. Without even owning technology, you've been exposed to the virus of fake news. Suppose you walk away from your source of exposure unable to research whether or not the presented information is true or not, you're going to believe it right?

 

 

The takeaway: next time major information breaks, make sure to do your research before you click repost. Help stop the spread of the fake news pandemic!

 

https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/xge-0000098.pdf

https://www.kub-uk.net/insights/illusory-truth-effect/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psych-unseen/202001/illusory-truth-lies-and-political-propaganda-part-1

https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/illusory-truth-effect/