Feed Evolution: The Journey from Social Media to AI-Powered Platforms (Alyssa, Jasmine, and Nicole)

Digital Literacies and 21st Century Skills

In this podcast episode on digital literacy, hosts Nicole, Jasmine, and Alyssa discuss about how social media has changed over the years, from Myspace to today’s AI-powered platforms. They explain how social media moved from a place to connect with friends to a main source of news, where algorithms push popular content even if it’s misleading. The hosts share personal stories to show how easily people of all ages can believe false information, especially with AI creating custom feeds that reinforce what users already think. They also discuss how these platforms create “echo chambers,” where users see more of the same ideas. In the end, they stress the need for being smart online and understanding the impact of these tools.

Click here to view the episode transcript.
References

Ceylan, G., Allen, S. (2023, March 31). How social media rewards misinformation. Yale Insights.

McNeil, T. (2024, February 23). How misinformation and disinformation spread, the role of AI, and how we can guard against them. TuftsNow.

Pew Research Center. (2024, September 17). Social media and news fact sheet.

Pfeifer, J. (2024, October 2). Research finds simple corrections can slow spread of misinformation online. Davidson College.

Simon, F., Altay, S., Mercier, H. (2023, October 18). Misinformation reloaded? Fears about the impact of generative AI on misinformation are overblown. Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review.