Negative information that people have to accept—— Construction of Identity in a digital world

   7 November 2023  Leave a Comment on Negative information that people have to accept—— Construction of Identity in a digital world  Posted in 2. ‘Medium theory’ Or ‘Construction of Identity in a digital world’

Digital identity refers to people browsing through symbols and identity information in the digital world to prove their personal identity. In today’s China, all types of software registration for new users require real name verification. Although this management is very strict, there are still various security risks on the network.

False Information:

Tiktok is the world’s largest short video platform, which is loved by people. But like other social media platforms, TikTok also faces the problem of false information and rumor spreading. According to the theoretical framework (Bautista et al., 2021), it can be concluded that false information has become more difficult to distinguish. In May of this year, a user released a video of a medical staff mentioning babies in Tiktok, which quickly caused controversy. Because the video was very vague, and the music had babies crying, most users mistakenly thought that the medical staff abused babies, leading to online violence. But finally, according to the verification, the so-called baby was just a model,the user was administratively detained.The practice of attracting traffic through this eye-catching method actually occurs every moment, requiring the user to have the ability to distinguish right from wrong.

Information Cocoons:

The concept of information cocoons has actually been proposed for a long time, and has recently returned to people’s perspective. Sunstein proposed that in information dissemination, due to the public’s own information needs being not comprehensive, the public only pays attention to what they choose and the communication field that makes them happy. Over time, they will shackle themselves in a cocoon like “cocoon room”. At the same time, the construction of identity must serve as an information cocoon. For example, when users of different ages use Tiktok, when they open the software, the information they can receive is completely different from the video recommended to them, including the algorithm. The internet celebrity Xiucai is an absolute top performer among the elderly, with over 10 million fans. His video style is dancing in the countryside and accompanied by music loved by middle-aged and elderly people. Until his account was finally banned, many young people were unaware of his existence, which is the role of the information cocoon. If users have such a tendency, the algorithm will continue to push this type of video and solidify their impression.

Conclusion:

In the current era of information explosion, the hidden dangers and obstacles of people using digital identities to receive messages still exist. Algorithms are a double-edged sword that can quickly lock in users while also greatly limiting them. Users need to have good judgment ability and refuse to indulge in information cocoons to prevent falling into a vicious cycle.

List of references:

Bautista,P.et al.(2021).Housing:Fact-checking in TikTok. Communication and narrative forms to combat misinformation.Latin Journal of Social Communication(79):87-112

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Fabio-Giacomelli-3/publication/355865060_Fact-checking_in_TikTok_Communication_and_narrative_forms_to_combat_misinformation/links/618a4d72d7d1af224bca53e8/Fact-checking-in-TikTok-Communication-and-narrative-forms-to-combat-misinformation.pdf

https://wiki.mbalib.com/wiki/%E4%BF%A1%E6%81%AF%E8%8C%A7%E6%88%BF

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