"Breaking the Prism of Social Media: Exploring the Roots of Online Political Polarization" by Chris Bell Publisher: Zhejiang People's Publishing House

Introduction · · · · · ·
★ How come someone who is emotionally quite stable in the real world becomes a troll with a screen full of swear words once he goes online?

★ When we really step out of the information cocoon, instead of moving towards openness and tolerance, we become more closed and extreme?

★ Are we being played by algorithms and trapped in an information cocoon? Or do we just like to fight each other?

★ In the Internet age, if it is impossible to “quit the Internet to ensure safety”, how can we face, listen to and even accept different opinions calmly?

★ Cutting-edge computational social science methods + reinterpretation of classical sociological theories to explore the root causes of online political polarization

★ Selected as a required reading list for freshmen at Princeton University

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【Content Introduction】

We suffer from social isolation in the real world, and the Internet, which we have high hopes for to break the isolation, is now increasingly becoming a place full of division and violence. We regard the policies and content distribution algorithms of social media platforms as the culprits, and consider the possibility of quitting the Internet completely, but the author of this book, Chris Bell, asks us to stop and think about another possibility. Using cleverly designed online experiments and in-depth interviews, he proves in this book that stepping out of the echo chamber (information cocoon) will make us more polarized, not less polarized. This book challenges common myths about echo chambers, foreign forces, and radical algorithms, revealing that social media functions more like a prism that distorts our identity, strengthens the power of status-seeking extremists, and makes moderates almost invisible; and the solution to political tribalism lies deep within ourselves.

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【Recommended by all circles】

◆ In analyzing the causal relationship between social media and polarization, this book puts forward very creative and inspiring views. What is particularly worth learning is that this social science monograph is written in a very easy-to-understand way... (It) describes the life course of specific netizens, making computational social science that relies on big data also appear flesh and blood and quite readable.

——Liu Hailong, Professor and Director of the Department of Communication, School of Journalism, Renmin University of China

◆ In this book, Bell suggests that if you want to understand what's happening online, don't focus on the information people are exposed to, but rather on their pursuit of status and group identity.

--Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind

◆ Chris Bell, a world-leading computational social scientist, brings deep sociological knowledge, cutting-edge research, and profound empathy to one of the most vexing social issues of our time: the trend toward increasingly polarized and uncivilized political discussions. This insightful book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how we got into this mess and how to get out of it.

--Duncan J. Watts, author of Counterintuitive Thoughts, chief scientist at Yahoo Research and Microsoft Research

◆ Through an engaging narrative, this book humanizes the political extremists and silent moderates on social media, emphasizing the responsibility and initiative of individual users in reducing political polarization on social media. Bell reveals the intuition and motivation that cause the prism effect of social media, thereby empowering readers and asking them to take responsibility.

——New Media and Society

◆ Through extensive interviews with social media users, Bell explores the profound differences between people's online and offline personalities, and clearly and in detail describes his efforts to develop a new social media platform to cultivate more civilized dialogue. Bell makes a persuasive and well-founded observation on one of the most pressing social issues of our time.

——Publishers Weekly