"The Daily Me"

As Cass Sunstein would argue in his “The Daily Me,” from "Republic 2.0," that the customization of media technologies has led not only to audience fragmentation, but to a general limited awareness of the media world. As users can limit themselves to the news, blogs, and points of view they prefer, they need not run into any potentially opposing viewpoints or alternative attitudes. As a result, beliefs are reinforced and divergent thoughts are stunted: “when the power to filter is unlimited, people can decide, in advance and with perfect accuracy, what they will and will not encounter.” Sunstein would argue that people should be exposed to unintended material and that common culture and shared experience are crucial for society.

Though it would be impossible not to filter culture to some extent, Sunstein laments the fragmentation that has resulted from culture customization. He argues that “there are serious dangers in a system in which individuals bypass general-interest intermediaries and restrict themselves to opinions and topics of their own choosing,” and recommend that consumers not limit their intake of media to premeditated views and subject areas. His wishes may not be answered, however, as developing technologies only make it easier to access the content we want and avoid the rest.

This article in Wired Magazine takes into consideration some of Sunstein's points, reflecting that while new media advertisers have the ability to customize ads to better target consumers, such personalization lessens the opportunity for content that may challenge our existing beliefs.