Internet rabbit holes are hidden dangers to unexpecting individuals. To put it in simple terms, rabbit holes are engaging pieces of material found on the internet that force people to continue scrolling, ultimately causing them to lose track of time. The name ‘rabbit hole’ is derived from the book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, referring to both never-ending and attention-grabbing endeavors, which is a rabbit hole. This week I listened to a podcast with over ten episodes on internet rabbit holes. I originally found an interest because this is a problem I personally deal with. Once I was a couple of episodes in I felt as though this information would be useful for lots of people.
In episode one of the Rabbit Hole podcast, listeners are provided with first-hand stories and encounters about the dangers of these everlasting cycles. A French man named Guillaume Chaslot, who used to work on the recommendation bars for YouTube, talked about a unique encounter on the train. During the long ride, Chaslot noticed that the man next to him was watching YouTube videos for almost six hours straight. When Chaslot turned to see what these engrossing 
films could be about, he noted that they were all conspiracy theories about billions of people being killed. Chaslot made a joke about the insanity of this idea, but the fellow passenger replied, “there are so many videos of this kind, it must be true”. The retired Google engineer knew differently- since the man had watched one video on the conspiracy, another was soon recommended and the more this man watched, the more related videos that would appear. This is a dangerous pattern because the man was only absorbing one-sided information, with Youtube holding back not only the other side of the argument, but also the more realistic ideas and explanations.
The second episode of the Rabbit Holes entitled, Looking Down, introduces not only the idea of one-sided information but its role in partisanship. People find themselves chasing the truth about reality in biased pieces flooding their feeds. For example, millions of people every day click on headings using phrases such as “The Truth About..” or “The Hidden Reality Behind.” People dig so deep into these ideas of feminism, misogyny, or other social issues, and forget to realize they are only viewing information that is specifically tailored towards their behavioral characteristics. Their original interest in something such as the “Climate Change Hoax” causes streams of similar articles to appear. However, people cannot make clear judgments if they have not heard both arguments. This is how disinformation campaigns gain traction because large populations are only consuming their favored side of the story, creating automatic loyalties tailored to a viewer’s original internet diet. The first information they absorb on their newsfeed creates dangerously unwavering opinions due to specified and targeted rabbit holes.
In the third episode, Kevin Roose begins to focus on videos that mirror political debates caused by rabbit holes. For example, Roose cites the story of a gamer named Destiny who was known to engage in head-to-head battles of ideology on live streams. He would work to debunk philosophers’ findings through intimidation, either talking over listeners or refuting the facts. Many believe
these disinformation campaigns are headed by uneducated and deceiving people. Their videos are then put out on streaming platforms or social media campaigns for people to become infatuated with. Other professionals choose to not embarrass the “brainwashed” but try to understand their conception was skewed by strings of false statements. Either way, those who are speaking with a prejudiced perception brought on by rabbit holes, are those living under a form of mind control. People like Destiny are prime examples of the dangers behind rabbit holes.
In the last and final podcast episode, Susan Wojcicki, a renowned executive producer, addressed the misinformation and extremist content that is often published through Youtube. With knowledge from her line of work, she points out that social media platforms often do not fact-check all that is publicized, which becomes the main problem when falling into internet holes. The conspiracy theories and articles people read fill their consciences with misconceptions. Many never come to the understanding that just because something is on a published website, it does not always necessarily make it reputable or reliable.
Many situations similar to this happen every day, causing twisted stories, polarized political parties, and social media frenzies. In an article written by Ivaylo Durmonski entitled, Internet Rabbit Holes: Why They Are Bad and How To Make Use Of Them, the idea of short attention spans is explored. When people are constantly consuming short tweets or fifteen-second videos, numbers start to decline, suggesting that humans start to struggle when given time-consuming tasks because non-stop stimulation is always prevalent and preferred. Another danger explored about in a Wired article called, Why Diving Down Internet Rabbit Holes Won’t Teach You Anything, is the fact that these cycles are endless. One of Google’s main priorities is to get people to stay online for as long as possible, leading unexpecting users to be easily sucked in as notifications appear and never-ending threads pop up. The truth is that the internet is not a safe place, and that rabbit holes are always ready and designed to draw people in, filter social networks, distort perspectives, waste time, and destroy diligence.
Hi Jordyn! Your blog this week is very well-researched and informative! I often go down internet rabbit holes, taking up huge amount of time out of my day without me even noticing. It’s kind of crazy how much time I can spend online, scrolling or clicking on the next video, but the tailored process you explain definitely provide insight into why. I’ve always known that articles and videos pop up because they are recommended for me based on previous things that I have read/watched- a prime example being Tiktok- but the implications you discussed are fascinating and something I haven’t really thought about before. It is common knowledge that people will pay attention to things that interest them and that they are influenced by the things they fill their heads with, but in every aspect of our media lives, it is strange to think we develop a singular narrative based on our preferences. The news channel we prefer to turn on is often an indicator of this phenomenon, but to think the smallest media ads on platforms that do not specifically advertise one line of thinking over the other track our preferences in order to give us content to keep us engaged, often promoting a preferred, one-sided perspective. This is definitely a strange reality, and the effects can definitely be seen in the extreme polarization we often see today, and it is very interesting to see how media and rabbit holes perpetuate this. Thank you for sharing!
Hello Jordyn, your blog post is so intriguing and relatable! I love how you talked about the effects of getting into a rabbit hole, and related it to a popular childhood story….Alice and Wonderland. I appreciate how you recognized that this is something you struggle with, and want to overcome it. I know myself and the majority of current society relate to this. Our generation has grown up with high usage of technology as it is a part of our daily lives. Therefore, many of us have developed an addiction or obsession with constantly being on our phones or computer. I often go down rabbit holes, especially when procrastinating, and it does more damage in the end. I believe it is beneficial to set limits and know what works for you. I like doing this method: putting a 30-minute timer on. After the 30 minutes are over I can spend a few minutes on my phone and repeat this cycle. While this may not seem like a lot of time off my phone, it really does help and this method will allow me to eventually not be on my phone at all. I really like how you are listening to podcasts about this! One of my favorite writers is Shelby Sacco, she talks about how to build habits and how you can lower your screen time. Thank you for this intriguing post!
Hey Jordyn,
I’m glad I finally got to comment on your blog before the semester ended, and I think I chose a good one to read. This story is so relatable, and I can tell that you have not only a lot of personal experience with the topic as well as a lot of research. You hit the trifecta of informative, entertaining, and persuasive, and I loved it.
I think the analysis you provided is spectacular. I especially enjoyed the point you brought up about clickbait titles advertising a truth. People aren’t attracted to learning; instead, these titles prey on FOMO and morbid curiosity. As you explain, this leads down a slippery slope where facts and conspiracy are indistinguishable. And I think one of the worst parts of this issue is that afflicted people are often stubbornly confident in their beliefs, to the point where they design facts in front of their face.
I also think the anecdote about Destiny is fascinating. We learned a lot about persuasion in AP Lang together last year, and the ethos and pathos that Destiny seems to carry greatly outweigh the glaring lack of any logos. On the topic of AP Lang, this blog reminded me of what we learned with Merchants of Doubt and how various tactics blur the lines of reality for unsuspecting people.
Hi Jordyn, your blog topic this week is super relatable to me as I have been down plenty of rabbit holes, especially on Youtube. The most recent rabbit hole that I have been ensnared by is literally keyboards. I watched one video about how keyboards were made and then I watch a hundred more. I watched people build their own keyboards, customize their keyboards, and review other keyboards until I question the purpose of my existence. I find it a little terrifying that a company such as Google has the power to create and manipulate these rabbit holes. With this power, Google could easily manipulate millions of people, hopefully this doesn’t happen in the future. I think that if you tried to find someone who has not been down a rabbit hole, you would turn up unsuccessful because are so common and effective. I think that it is very cool that someone is addressing this important topic in their post this week.