Refresh the Amazon.com Video Games store a few times, and you’ll probably see something rather revolting, if you happen to be a die-hard Xbox 360 fanboy: a blatant claim that Grand Theft Auto IV is “meant to be played on the PS3.” But there’s more to this than meets the eye.
PS3 Fanboy reports that the Amazon system is designed to actually recommend that users purchase the version that corresponds to the system (Xbox 360 or PS3) for which they purchase the most games. Makes sense, right? But if you’re not logged in, or perhaps if you purchase games for neither system (like myself) you may find refreshing the page once again provides you with a more (or less) palatable image:
While Amazon probably has a vested interest in not annoying even its more extreme customers, this experiment in biased marketing does raise the question of how targeted ads might cause further division in society. Psychologists speak of a confirmation bias — the tendency for individuals already prone to a particular belief to seek out information that confirms that belief. We see this all the time with politics; for instance, liberals avoid Fox News like the plague while seeking out liberal newspapers instead.
But here, there’s not even a cognitive choice - Amazon ‘confirms’ for me that GTA IV will give me a better experience on my PlayStation 3. Assuming I don’t question Amazon’s assumptions, it will probably have a positive, confirming effect on me — the same that salesmen try to give by assuring you that “you’ve made a wise choice” — but will simultaneously ingrain the message that PS3 is better. Multiply over time and sooner or later I might truly believe it, and with not a speck of evidence pointing either direction.
In this case, gamers caught the obvious bias and flaunted it — but in practice, the technique will be more or less invisible, as only those who are likely to believe the falsehood will be shown the falsehood in the first place.
The internet age provides society with powerful tools, but with great power comes… you know the drill.
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