Internet Biases

Earlier this week in class, we read the essay "About Men," its title simply stating its subject matter. I found it interesting how the essay discussed the differences between real cowboys and the medias's portrayal and general perceptions of the macho men of the west. In my blog, I've decided to tackle the issue of gendered space online. There are many different kinds of websites online, but some forums tend to be echo chambers filled with only those who agree with a certain viewpoint. I decided to consider the issue with one of the sites I use most often for news and entertainment, Reddit. Reddit is, as calculated by the Alexa ranking system, the 7th most visited website in the US. It also has 67 percent male users. Considering the disparity in gender percentages from real life, it helps if I take that bias into account when considering the accuracy of certain news articles. Unfortunately, the echo chamber effect is even more pronounced on Reddit due to the ability to make "subreddits" that allow you to talk to people that have the same viewpoint as you. Taking that into consideration, because subreddits like /r/news have 71 percent male users, my newsfeed may be completely shifted, and the more important developments aren't being brought to my attention. This isn't to say that gender makeup ruins the credibility of news, but next time you are browsing a website, at least take it into consideration as a confounding variable!