-
Day 1 Thought of the Day
Being amongst my usual media provided me with a sense of comfort that I think shows a problem with society, being that people get almost too comfortable in their biases and unwilling to look into media that they do not align with. -
Day 1 Journal
I watched a video of Hasan Piker, a political commentator who shares my beliefs. I also engaged with TikToks that share my beliefs to begin trying to change my algorithm. I wanted to engage with beliefs like my own for the first day to start in spaces that I feel most comfortable in. The next day, I wanted to jump into the opposing media, so it would feel like more of a change. My initial reaction was a sense of comfort and entertainment, as well as me agreeing with most of what was being said. -
Day 2 Journal
I cleared my youtube search history to start fresh and started to engage with right-wing media. I watched the video of Andrew Tate speaking with a therapist. I actually found this video pretty entertaining as well as an eye-opening experience into the mind of this person who I fundamentally disagree with on everything I have seen of his so far. I still found some discomfort in listening to him speak. I also started my Tiktok algorithm experiment. The algorithm still favours left-wing media. -
Day 2 Thought of the Day
When watching the Andrew Tate video, I had to push back on a lot of my biases and ignore my personal thoughts of who he is as a person. A video like this does a great job of humanizing the person on the "other side" because you get a better look into how they became the way they are. My biggest issue with Andrew Tate lies in his criminal record. I think watching a video like this with someone who was JUST on the "other side" and had his views would have been easier to digest. -
Day 3 Thought of the Day
I think the most important part of discussion with people that oppose your beliefs is just remembering to have empathy and understand that just like you, people came to understand the world through their lived experiences. Also, the media we consume plays a big part in how we see the world. A lot of people equate research to scrolling through YouTube, TikTok or Reddit, which can be dangerous since misinformation and disinformation can spread so easily these ways. -
Day 3 Journal
Today, I watched the Middle Ground video on vaccines. I have seen this video in the past and watched it from the pro-vaccine side. This time, I shifted my views and went into the video from the anti-vaccine side. I actually developed a lot more empathy being amongst them while watching. I think we tend to see anti-vaxxers as selfish and uninformed people, but their concerns do come from a genuine place. A lot of their anecdotes in regards to vaccines made me better understand their views. -
Day 4 Thought of the Day
Like one of my other thoughts of the day mentioned, the media we consume and how we consume that media plays a significant role in our biases. The issues with apps like TikTok and Instagram, that push a an algorithm catered to the specific user, are a lack of exposure to the "other side" and that they push the "louder" voices of a topic. They tend to fall more extreme, and fail to show moderate perspectives, which is a significant amount of people missing from any conversation. -
Day 4 Journal
Today I focused mainly on trying to see if I could change my algorithm on TikTok within a day. TikTok's algorithm reacts very quickly to media the user engages with. I spent two hours on TikTok in total (split over the course of about 10 hours) and eventually a right-wing video did show up. When I initially saw the video, I did feel a bit out of place since it was not my 'normal'. I engaged with it and didn't notice an immediate change, but I am hoping to see a change over the next day or two. -
Day 5 Journal
I continued my TikTok experiment and found that more right-wing videos did appear on my For You Page, especially by the content creator Brett Cooper. There were some points of hers that I agreed with, and her beliefs are communicated clearly and effectively through the medium. I had some other videos show up by a number of creators who I plan to look further into. Being on that side of TikTok was definitely jarring but once multiple videos appeared, I noticed I was more interested in listening. -
Day 5 Thought of the Day
I realized when watching these TikToks, how easy it is to be sucked into a rhetoric online. While I disagreed with most of the videos that showed up on my TikTok feed, as time went on and more videos appeared, I felt myself more willing to listen and find things that I could agree with within the content. This technology can be dangerous when we are receiving short, informational videos regarding a certain topic, and how easy it is to just believe what someone says and not look into it further. -
Day 6 Thought of the Day
I think one of the most important things I learned about this is that delivery is half of the information. If someone is unable to calmly present their beliefs and information without reducing the "other side" to names, insulting their character and disregarding what they say, then I do not think they really want to be understood, they just want to be "heard" and hear themselves speak at the same time. -
Day 6 Journal
I looked into the Fresh&Fit Podcast on TikTok through reposts of their content from YouTube.I have seen this podcast in the past and avoided it because of their misogyny. Being amongst them was admittedly pretty unsettling, and I struggled going into it with an open mind. I did pick up on the tactics they used, like interruption and talking over others. I also think their points get lost because their goal is to say as much as they can as quickly as they can, rather than be concise and clear. -
Day 7 Thought of the Day
Something I have noticed about a lot of these platforms is that content creators who discuss topics that are political or controversial have sole control of the media they produce. A podcast host decides who they allow on their show, a TikTok influencer runs their page to cater to a like-minded audience. I think this gives individuals so much more power than is even recognizable to them, on either side of a discussion. -
Day 7 Journal
I looked at Tiktoks with reposted content from Whatever, a YouTube podcast. Similarly to the last podcast, these creators have reductive takes on gender. I felt a little more comfortable amongst this group. I found they were less aggressive in their delivery. They ask girls on their podcast to rate themselves on a scale of 1-10, and then give their thoughts on it in a way that belittles the women. I try to understand why they do this, and I think it comes from insecurity and a lack of power. -
Day 8 Journal
On the final day of my social media withdrawal, I watched a Middle Ground video about conservative parents and liberal teachers. This one is the most relevant to me just with my practice and beliefs, so watching it from the opposite side helped me better understand how those outside the education system see it, as well as they expect from schools and teachers. I should note that these discussion centre around the American education system, but they do reflect similar beliefs of Canadians. -
Day 8 Thought of the Day
Putting myself in the mindset of a group of people completely opposite to me, as well as people who criticize people who are so similar to me was a refreshing experience that opened my eyes to just how scrutinized education is. As much as it may have bothered me to hear some of the implications they were making about teachers and their intention, I do think hearing these opinions out can be beneficial for teachers to better understand why some parents may feel this way.