U. S. And the world with interactive maps. Watch ondemand anytime unfiltered at cspan. Org coronavirus. All month on cspan, we are featuring the winners of our studentcam documentary competition. Middle and High School Students created videos answering the question what issue do you most want the 2020 president ial candidates to address . Our second prize High School Central award goes to tyler connaher, a 12th grader at Bay Port High School in green bay, wisconsin, where cspan is available through spectrum. Their winning entry is titled americas digital divide. Scott i really asked myself a question what is the fastest way to destroy a democracy . At least one person is dead and several injured tonight after protests and counterprotests turned violent. The great divide in american politics shows no sign of closing. Many are now questioning whether their information is truly safe on the social network. I think the fastest way to destroy a democracy is to poison the information. Tyler within america today, there is one issue that supersedes all others. Not only as a result of the physical ramification but because it simultaneously stifles sincere discussion, agitates hostility, and corrupts our culture. This issue is Political Polarization, the animosity that emerges from it, and the role social media has in generating it. It would be disingenuous to say that Political Polarization has not existed since our nations founding, but as a recent Pew Research Study suggests, this ideological chasm is only widening. In 1994, only 21 of republicans and 17 of democrats held a very unfavorable view of the opposition. By 2016, those percentages had become the majority, 58 and 55 , respectfully. The sentiments that emerge from such antipathy are increasing as well, developing an inaccurate characterization of the Political Parties and the people that represent them. What is the source of this unnecessary partisan division . Prof. Weinschenk it is hard to get good political information given the way the media covers politics these days. I mean, they cover something in 30 seconds or even a couple minutes. That is really hard. Most of the issues we are facing are really complicated. Mr. Moran i think at this point, the genie is out of the bottle, right . The internet exists, social media exists. I think the problem is when it is used, you know, for a negative purpose, not to bring us together but instead to tear us apart. Tyler with the growing importance of social media in politics, what aspects of this platform contribute to this divide . Mr. Fitzgerald the problem that i have with social media is when it is censored or regulated. That shouldnt be. The media should present facts and allow the consumer to make their choices. Mr. Moran one of the problems we have with a lot of the social media and a lot of the new news encourages people to stay within their own little bubble, and you never see anything again which may challenge any preconceived notions. Mr. Fitzgerald what is immediate has become an economic issue. In order for them to sell subscriptions, compete in this rapidly advancing, 24hour news cycle, they have to sensationalize. Tyler the issue goes much further than the design of social media platforms. They are also vulnerable to Political Consulting companies, like Cambridge Analytica, who maliciously steal and manipulate users data. Mr. Wylie Cambridge Analytica sought to identify mental vulnerabilities in voters and worked to exploit them by targeting information designed to activate some of the worst characteristics in people, such as neuroticism, paranoia, and racial biases. Mr. Moran i think protect their data, yeah. I mean, that is a huge issue. We know Cambridge Analytica is an example. We know that they went after they went after a subset of people, so they went looking for a population for which they could manipulate, and that is a huge deal. Prof. Weinschenk i think if you only see ads that expose you to things that you already like and you never see a contrary viewpoint, it could be really problematic. It could give you a biased understanding issues but it also could just totally shut off another viewpoint. Mr. Moran i always encourage people to do that. See the amount of data they have on you, the things you liked, the things you comment on. From that, you could build a pretty comprehensive profile of a bunch of people, in a sense, to change peoples minds. Tyler it is apparent that our cultures continued reliance on social media, and the very nature of the platforms themselves, have contributed to this political antipathy. So what are the ramifications . How do we minimize them . Prof. Weinschenk as a way of starting off, id say, is gridlock good . A lot of them are, like, super frustrated by the lack of attention on issues that are important to them, and then when they think about it, and they are like, hmm, maybe that is a reflection of the division that exists in the country, or maybe that leads us to a better outcome down the line, maybe it slows us down a little bit. Mr. Fitzgerald theres things being said that just absolutely turn people off, and there are things being said that absolutely turn people on. As a result, you have got more people engaged, more people listening, more people developing opinions, and that is really going to be better for the country. Mr. Moran there was this notion that the loyal opposition was the loyal opposition sort of thing, right . And, you know, even if people dont agree politically, we all have the same goal. In theory, we are all moving in the same direction. And it has only been fairly recently that i feel like that has been i dont want to say broken, but that notion is fraying some. Mr. Fitzgerald i think the most important word in this interview, actually, is the word listen. You know, i was told one time, god gave you two ears and one mouth, use them proportionally. And i think as a society, we tend to fail. We tend to fail in doing that. Mr. Moran i think the second thing is the social media environment. When we allow the loudest voices to be dominant in debate, it leaves there is no area for any sort of meaningful dialogue. Tyler despite the ramifications of Political Polarization, one aspect remains clear throughout my research the importance of respect, the ability to listen, and the willingness to challenge your own beliefs. As Andrew Breitbart said, politics is downstream from culture. Our culture, more than ever before, has existed solely within the digital realm, a realm that threatens to divide our country along ideological lines. That is why this issue is so significant, because only us, the people, have the power to solve it. You can watch each winning studentcam documentary online at studentcam. Org. Several u. S. Governors held briefings on their states responses to coronavirus. Coming, new jersey
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