Author: Tina (Page 1 of 3)

My three topics/areas of fascination are:

1. Gardening 
2. Food
3. Art

My question of choice for each topic are as follows:

1. Now that it’s officially spring and the weather is getting warmer, my parents and I have been looking to get new house plants to brighten up our home and flowers/veggies for our garden. While searching around, I found this article talking about sustainable plant shopping. After reading, I realized that I’ve never really stopped to think about where the plants came from. According to the article, many “off the shelf” plants that we purchase are grown with loads of chemicals which is harmful to en environment. Thus, this made me think of the question: What are some more ways to make my gardening hobby more sustainable, bio-organic, and environmentally friendly? 
2. For my second topic of food/restaurants, I looked around the internet regarding Yelp which is the app I use most often to find new restaurants to try out. Upon digging around, I found out that Yelp has been in a lot of controversies over the years in regards to manipulation of reviews and predatory advertising tactics. I read this article about how Davide Cerretini, owner of the restaurant Botto Bistro, would give a discount to anyone to leave a 1-star review on Yelp, eventually gaining him the worst-rated restaurant on Yelp. His inspiration to do this was to rebel against having the fate of his business rest in the hands of the online review ecosystem. This makes me think of the question: How can we break free from the manipulation of larger corporations to better support small businesses?
3. For the topic of art, I was looking around and came upon this article in the New York Times about an old exhibit at the MET called “Everything Is Connected: Art and Conspiracy.” This made me think about how many times, art is a projection of our past and our present. At the same time, art also has the power to change the way we perceive our own reality. In many instances, art has been successfully used as a medium for changing/altering people’s thoughts and emotions (propaganda, for example) about a certain topic. This makes me think of the question: What are the elements that go into a piece of art that strengthens or weakens its ability to influence a viewer’s thoughts and emotions?

From this TED talk, I learned that while the internet provides an opportunity to connect with the world around us, it also serves as a divider/veil that hinders our ability to effectively engage in civil discourse and maintain an open mind. As Eli Pariser highlights, the dark side of personalization and tailored content is that we tend to become trapped in a “filter bubble” that limits the diversity of our information intake. The more time we spend on the internet, the more we are exposed to content that is specifically catered to our personal opinions, and the more we are reinforced to believe that these opinions are correct 100% of the time (aka confirmation bias).  Our lack of control over this internet algorithm-generated process ultimately leads us down a rabbit hole of biased information exposure where we only see what we want to see; our very own personalized “firewalls.”

Oftentimes, I too find myself prone to becoming trapped in a filter bubble. Recently, however, I’ve been trying to keep a more open mind when it comes to the information I choose to trust on the internet. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve realized how easy it is for false and inaccurate information to become widespread and popularized. Especially during times of great uncertainty and fear, people tend to actively search for information, choosing only to hear what they believe. Thus, I’ve since become more skeptical of the information I’m exposed to. Instead of blindly taking the word of the first news source I stumble upon, I try my best to push myself out of the comfort zone of my “filter bubble” to explore different viewpoints on the topic, whether or not I like what I see. Though it’s okay to have our own opinions, it is always good to maintain an open mind to other perspectives.