Everyone Using The Internet Is Affected By This Bias

Of all the baises, I'd put confirmation bias as a top contender for its deleterious effect on critical thinking.

Confirmation bias is the tendency to interpret or seek out information that supports a particular point of view.

So why is confirmation bias bad for critical thinking? Critical thinking is the ability to reserve judgment until objective data has been obtained and reviewed. It prioritizes data that has been obtained without bias, without emotional impact, and without agenda. However, confirmation bias is inherently rooted in emotional wants and desires. When we seek out information to support a particular point of view, we are doing it because we want that point of view to be confirmed, not because we are necessarily interested in actual truth.

Ok, so confirmation bias is kind of an opposite of critical thinking, but how does it impact our ability to think critically? The short version - confirmation bias urges us to shortcut rational thinking and supplant it with an emotionally satisfying result. Critical thinking is like a muscle - if you don't use it, it goes away. So the more you shortcut it, the more it atrophies.

Here is an example - say I am scrolling through social media, and I see that someone on my feed has posted some ostensible political milquetoast that conforms to my world view. I think to myself 'Yes! This is exactly what I think of the situation!' and then repost it, saying something like 'The idiots on the other side of the aisle just don't get it!' But - have I actually challenged my view at all with such actions? Have I questioned myself and why I believe what I believe with my response? Nope. But what I have done is see my world view validated, which further entrenches it, so next time something comes along that might cause me to otherwise think about the why's of what I believe, I have another arrow in my quiver to shoot at it.

Social media isn't the only forum on the internet where confirmation bias exists, though. As Neil DeGrasse Tyson says - "Search engines are the epitome of confirmation bias". Let's say I am discussing a topic with someone, and there is some disagreement as to the final conclusion. How about a rather benign topic - weight loss and calorie counting. A quick search of 'Is calorie counting effective for weight loss?' results in four of the top seven results saying it does work, and the remaining three claiming it doesn't. Regardless of which side of the discussion I start in, there is ample evidence to back up my claim. In a situation where I am having a discussion with someone and there is some back and forth happening, I am already emotionally invested in my argument, so of course I am not going to highlight anything that doesn't support what I am trying to convey. I might be thinking I have made a good argument, but I haven't done any real thinking for myself.

The truth is, it's impossible to rid ones self of confirmation bias - it's just too powerful. Simply being aware that it exists is the first step to mitigating it, but there is also the conscious effort of asking yourself 'why?' when you see something that you initially perceive as evidence. Why am I willing to believe it, and why should I believe it (or not?). If it can't be gotten rid of, we can at least try to be more cognizant of when it appears, and when it is more harmful than helpful. And, staying off Facebook. That helps, too.