Philosophical Posting
by Evalee Mason
Many times on social media, we often see updates from people we follow, friend, or subscribe to. One of the main issues with seeing these notifications is that they can be understood in ways that aren’t true. Fights that end friendships, or even go to the extreme of creating wars are often started over social media content that has been misinterpreted. What is the point of posting about your activities or views if there is a chance that it could be misinterpreted? Why do some people view such things in a certain way?
A reason for some misinterpretations is confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is ‘a tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions, leading to statistical errors.’* It often manifests itself in the judgements of others, and the person might look for evidence, or only pay attention to evidence that further supports their hypothesis. For example, Person 1 (who will be referred to as Jane), believes that Person 2 (referred to as Jack), hates the United States. One day, Jack is scrolling through Facebook and sees on his timeline that Jane has posted a photo of the Canadian flag. Jack has decided to interpret this as malice against the U.S. that Jane has posted, when in actuality, Jane posted the flag to support her favorite hockey team that is playing in the finals. Although Jack had no accurate information to show that Jane hated America, he used a post off of social media that settled his belief. This is an example of confirmation bias because Jack assumed something that Jane posted to further his judgement of her views.
The incorrectness of social media content may also come from the person's state of mind. In his writing, On Truth and Lies in an Extra Moral Sense, Friedrich Nietzsche describes man as "immersed in illusions and dreams" on the grounds that the eyes identify just "forms" however they do not look for truth. Nietzsche portrays the foundation of "truth" as a "peace treaty" made between people on the grounds that people are, by need, social. These people set traditions of "truth" to build up any method for communication. I believe that Nietzsche wouldn’t appreciate social media because he would see the disregard for the truth that plagues social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. These would however help his philosophy, because people do act like he says. They often jump to conclusions instead of searching for the truth. Even though there was no Snapchat in Nietzsche’s time, it is a good example for his ideas. If someone was to see a boy and a girl hanging out on a Snapchat story, it would probable that the viewer would assume that they’re dating. However, they could be just friends, with no romantic relationship. Yet the person did not look for the truth and just identified the form, like Nietzsche said.
So, next time you’re Instagramming, just remember that Nietzsche could have thought that your selfie filter signified that you were actually a monster.
Sources
* "Confirmation Bias." Science Daily. Science Daily. Web. 24 June 2015. Definition of Confirmation Bias
Nietzsche, Friedrich. "On Truth and Lies in an Extra Moral Sense." On Truth and Lies (1873). Print.
A reason for some misinterpretations is confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is ‘a tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions, leading to statistical errors.’* It often manifests itself in the judgements of others, and the person might look for evidence, or only pay attention to evidence that further supports their hypothesis. For example, Person 1 (who will be referred to as Jane), believes that Person 2 (referred to as Jack), hates the United States. One day, Jack is scrolling through Facebook and sees on his timeline that Jane has posted a photo of the Canadian flag. Jack has decided to interpret this as malice against the U.S. that Jane has posted, when in actuality, Jane posted the flag to support her favorite hockey team that is playing in the finals. Although Jack had no accurate information to show that Jane hated America, he used a post off of social media that settled his belief. This is an example of confirmation bias because Jack assumed something that Jane posted to further his judgement of her views.
The incorrectness of social media content may also come from the person's state of mind. In his writing, On Truth and Lies in an Extra Moral Sense, Friedrich Nietzsche describes man as "immersed in illusions and dreams" on the grounds that the eyes identify just "forms" however they do not look for truth. Nietzsche portrays the foundation of "truth" as a "peace treaty" made between people on the grounds that people are, by need, social. These people set traditions of "truth" to build up any method for communication. I believe that Nietzsche wouldn’t appreciate social media because he would see the disregard for the truth that plagues social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. These would however help his philosophy, because people do act like he says. They often jump to conclusions instead of searching for the truth. Even though there was no Snapchat in Nietzsche’s time, it is a good example for his ideas. If someone was to see a boy and a girl hanging out on a Snapchat story, it would probable that the viewer would assume that they’re dating. However, they could be just friends, with no romantic relationship. Yet the person did not look for the truth and just identified the form, like Nietzsche said.
So, next time you’re Instagramming, just remember that Nietzsche could have thought that your selfie filter signified that you were actually a monster.
Sources
* "Confirmation Bias." Science Daily. Science Daily. Web. 24 June 2015. Definition of Confirmation Bias
Nietzsche, Friedrich. "On Truth and Lies in an Extra Moral Sense." On Truth and Lies (1873). Print.