Searching for Sensationalism

As has been the subject of my previous blog posts, I will continue to delve into the impact of technology on the nature of arguments. More specifically, how mobile technology has effected the credibility of an argument. I have stated many times in previous posts that people engaged in arguments often resort to desperately searching their smartphones for information to support their ideas. This desperate use of search engines to produce information in agreement with various arguments already skews any possible results obtained in the search. At the very least, it reduces the ability of a participant in an argument to seek independent information. Just the ability to obtain biased information from either conservative or liberal blogs creates a greater divide among people debating on a daily basis. While the internet and mobile technology is often seen as great fact finding tool, I believe that it has done more to harm the credibility of an argument as most results obtained through searches do not contain verifiable or empirical data. Very few people bother to take the time to read through academic or peer reviewed articles and instead fall in favor of reading opinionated blogs. Whether this is because it is a more entertaining medium for information or that it is more likely to support a particular bias, this seems to be more frequent with the rise of mobile information. Of course the rising popularity of political blogs is often due to the fact that many seek to find sensationalist stories, many of which consist of conspiracy theories. This can be seen today with the rise of the "birthed" movement and conspiracy sites such as Alex Jones" Infowars. Many of these sites claim to be breaking stories that mainstream sources have withheld from the public for the sake of maintaining a vast conspiracy. Often they cite supposed "credible sources" that upon further review may be very shaky. Because of the bold claims these cites make, many of the younger and influential internet audience have latched on to these movements. Defying older more traditional sources of media has become somewhat of a popular trend today in America. Unfortunately, these sources are not held to the same high standard and level of scrutiny that mainstream sources partake in. Many of these more traditional sources such as The New York Times and various cable outlets have attempted to latch onto the growing trend of mobile information but have yet to obtain the popularity of these underground sources among tech savvy users. As a result, arguments continue to lose credibility due to the rapid spread of disinformation in the form of sensationalism across the internet. The more these sensationalist sites are visited, the more likely they are to appear at the top of search results. This is an unfortunate reality and maybe and necessary evil of a democratic internet ecosystem.