The Loneliness of the Interconnected Analysis

The Loneliness of the Interconnected by Charles Seife is an essay that is based off of the conformity of our minds trapped within the omnipotent societal force titled that is called the Internet. Seife concludes that the Internet can create an inevitable bubble. This then leads to a state of comfort and avoidance from negative information, which may then lead to what Festinger calls the Cognitive Dissonance. Seife first builds his credibility by claiming that the Internet was originally served for the purpose of exploring, thinking, and challenging, understanding one side of the perspective. However, Seife claims that the media causes today’s society to isolate ourselves within our own thoughts. Seife’s concerning voice conveys the serious issue of being “comfortable”. He utilizes facts to demonstrate how TV news, such as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, hold a bias that only appeal to a subgroup of the population. By providing proof, the author convinces the readers that media is biased. Furthermore, Seife uses examples, such as Google’s search engine, to portray how the Internet can corrupt and narrow our mind. Disturbingly enough, the web search engine manipulates future links that one is most likely to find useful. In addition, Seife uses an extreme example, such as the anti-HIV vaccine ban in South Africa, to argue how misleading information can be spread through not questioning one’s belief.  Seife informs his audience that settling into a comfort zone is dangerous because before we are learning to properly use the Internet, the Internet is using us. Although Seife’s tone sets fear into the audience of the readers, he also does set a tone of hope. The Internet is filled with over millions of sources that are available, that is, if one is willing to break outside their comfort of their search engine and be challenged. Furthermore, the Internet should be used to dispute, explore, and help modern media to lessen the close-minded. Seife’s claim, “anything that does not affect our opinions is not information; its noise”, conveys that not all intelligent reviews promote knowledge. I believe that Seife’s main purpose of this essay was to confront, challenge, and help create dispute amongst one another in order to progress in our beliefs and grow as a society.