Rabbit Hole



Rabbit Hole is a podcast hosted by The New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose and produced by The New York Times. The podcast is an 8-part narrative that explores how the internet is changing and how that is effecting society, specifically through radicalization. It tracks the story of Caleb Cain, a young man with moderate political views who initially uses Youtube to watch video game content but is pulled deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole, as it's called. (Roose, 2020) The rabbit hole is the effect on users who use the internet for research or entertainment but end up delving deeper and deeper into increasingly similar content. In the context of rabbit hole and youtube, it describes far-right radicalization taking place via YouTube's algorithms. Caleb's interest in online gaming content quickly spirals into politically charged material on Youtube. Youtube is specifically designed to keep users engaged for longer periods of time by suggesting content to maintain maximum engagement. The platform then acts as an echo chamber and continues to further feed Caleb conspiracy theories and extreme political content. The podcast reminded me of several themes from our textbook "Communicating Online", that Green (n.d.) touches on such as perception, bias, selectivity, and agenda-setting theory, to name just a few. The podcast also explores ethics and the responsibility that platforms hold in the world of online communication. It's an excellent series and each episode is only 30 minutes long. I recommend giving it a listen if you would like a well-produced podcast to help you understand how algorithms and online communication are taking the driver's seat in shaping perception of the world around us and how it is capable of influencing actions in the real world.


If you need some gentler YouTube rabbit holes to tumble down then I recommend: https://www.npr.org/2024/11/05/1211597320/youtube-rabbit-holes-that-are-great-distractions



Green, Julia. (n.d.). Communicating Online. Oregon State University.

Roose, Kevin. (Host). 2020. Rabbit Hole [Audio Podcast]. NYTimes. https://www.nytimes.com/column/rabbit-hole.


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