American Idol Killed My Daily Me

I hate American Idol and I'm not afraid to admit it. I think it is a ridiculous contest which pits the mediocre against the wretched in a landscape stuffed full of product placement. Obviously, I don't watch it.

According to Cass Sunstein in the The Daily We, I should not ever be exposed to the American Idol phenomenon. He argues that the rise of the Internet and the increasingly fragmented communications market "will reduce the level of shared experiences" we have as a society and will, through a process known as "group polarization" will make us all more extreme in our views. This, in turn, may be a danger to a democracy, which requires its citizens to be informed about the issues and have the ability to compromise or reach consensus. Simply stated, since the communications market allows me almost absolute freedom to choose what I want to see and filter out what I don't, I should never have to suffer one word about Carrie and Bo.

So why do I happen to know that Carrie Blond-Country-Singer won?! Sunsteins entire premise seems to exist on the theories that all communications consumers live in individual, hermetically sealed bubbles and like-mindedness on one issue equals like-mindedness on all issues. However, I, as an avid communications consumer, have living and breathing friends with views different from mine. In the past week I have had interactions with no less than 7 people in four different states and two continents which involved a discussion of American Idol.

This, of course extends to other, more significant areas as well. Although I am a staunch supporter of gay rights, I don't believe in hate crimes legislation. Most sustained or serious discussions on gay rights will eventually come around to hate crimes legislation and, since I disagree with the majority, I will be forced to listen to a viewpoint different from my own - exactly what Sunstein says won't occur.

Sunstein's failure to take into account the interactions of our daily lives, easily the most significant ones, makes his entire premise suspect. No amount of time chatting with other liberal Democrats online can protect you from the ranting of your arch-conservative Uncle Bob at the Thanksgiving table. In the same way, no amount of filtering could keep me from news of the dreaded American Idol.