Egocasting

Very interesting piece in yesterday's Globe and Mail ("Wired Up, Plugged In, Zoned Out" - linking requires a subscription at the moment). It was about an emerging phenomenon among (mostly) young people to use new media (iPods, mobile phones, TiVos, blog subscriptions, etc.) in a selective way, thereby avoiding challenging their own opinions and tastes. It's been cleverly dubbed 'egocasting'.

For me, it's a source of both amusement and concern. Of course, it's human nature to seek out information that reaffirms our own position. But increasingly, it's becoming possible to switch off completely to anything outside our own little niches. This not only promotes egotism and deprives us of a wider world view, but also leaves us vulnerable to marketers and consumerism. It also has serious potential consequences for civil society, as the web chatter surrounding our upcoming federal election shows. It becomes more difficult to hear and consider opposing viewpoints when you get your news from blogs and other web subscriptions, rather than print newspapers and reputable mainstream news media.

I spend a modest amount of time on the Internet, compared to some people I know. Yet I see evidence of egocasting all the time. I do find it a bit disturbing, as the Globe article notes, how "...these technologies encourage navel-gazing and satisfaction of one's own taste as the pre-eminent virture, and only secondarily the understanding of others' tastes."

Right. Time to log off and go interact with the real world now. ;-)