Title: The real world causes of online segregation | The Daily Dot
Headings: The real world causes of online segregation
The real world causes of online segregation
The Facebook echo chamber is more dangerous than you think.
Gillian Branstetter

Content: In an equally pernicious manner, the segregation present in the housing market further delineates the geographic boundaries between blacks and whites. According to a recent study by the National Institute of Health, racial makeup of a neighborhood is a vital factor in choosing a new home for both black and white residents, and the University of Michigan reports that trend has particularly negative economic effects on black neighborhoods: “ Inner city black poverty is caused by the flight of jobs to suburbs, where blacks can’t reach them.” Any social scientist can tell you that separation between people of different races is alive and well. As it is with most social ills, these modern forms of segregation have followed us online. Despite the Internet’s reputation as “the great equalizer,” social networks develop “white neighborhoods” and “black neighborhoods” and for more reasons than self-segregation. The division between races online is a harmful echo of the realities of American racial politics, and one that re-enforces a divide between life for white Americans and life for black Americans. This segregation is not only a result of inequality between races but an important cause of a communication breakdown that worsens it. While it might seem odd, race seems to be a major indicator in which social media sites you’ll use. While roughly equal percentages of blacks and whites use social media, divides become present when we look at which sites they’re using.