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Digital Panic

inside the circle

Crisis brings uncertainty.

How do we, as individuals and societies, navigate our responses in times of crisis? The paths we take through a crisis are increasingly shaped by digital technologies, impacting the way we discuss, agree and disagree on what needs to happen next. Today’s digital information environment influences the news we read, the stories we share and the views we develop. What role might technology be playing in shaping our opinions?

Introduction

Confusion

Quality information can be hard to find in an overloaded information environment. Can social media platforms designed to appeal to our desires end up confirming our biases instead of giving us the facts we’re looking for?

Persuasion

Our opinions have become valuable data for those who have messages to promote. At the same time, new forms of digital persuasion are more intrusive but less obvious. Do we always know when we are being influenced?

Polarisation

Crisis is a time of exception — an unpre­dictable condition in which political agendas are advanced and different worldviews collide. As new alliances form online, fears, angers and frustrations can become amplified.