Are You In a Fanboy Echo Chamber?
Kevin Felts 08.14.17
An echo chamber is when an ideology is affirmed and reinforced. Some people may call this “reindeer games.” In the movie Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, all the reindeer were playing together and Rudolph was excluded. Rudolf was different from the other reindeer, so he was excluded from the group.
Part of human nature is we shun things if we disagree with them. You like Product A better than Product B? Well, you are just dumb, everyone knows Product B is better. There is no middle ground for personal preference. If someone buys anything less than what you consider to be the best of the best, they are clearly stupid and must be informed of their errors.
That type of reinforcement is harmful to everyone involved. There are numerous situations where someone may not be able to buy the best of the best, and in no case should they be shunned or belittled for buying a less-popular (or so-called “inferior”) product.
Example
On a certain fanboy Facebook firearm page someone posted a firearm that was on sale. I posted a reply stating if they went with another brand, they would get a better quality product that cost around $50 more that the one they were asking about.
Some members opined that my suggestion was junk. Those who were posting refused to say whether they owned (or even if they had any actual experience with) said item.
So, I go to a fanboy forum and start a thread asking about said product and why people think it is junk. I was waiting for a certain moderator to post. The moderator in question has a reputation of locking threads when he is asked to explain his opinion.
Sure enough, that moderator posted something saying he has “seen” the product, but did not state that he had firsthand experience with it.
When asked a direct question to explain his stance, the thread was promptly locked.
That type of fanboy echo chamber reinforcement is harmful to everyone involved. Rather that having an honest and open discussion, the discussion was simply shut down.
I rarely post there because of this. If a thread goes in a direction that may change their opinion, the thread gets locked.
Final Thoughts
Fanboys generally believe they are superior to everyone else. Each believes himself (or herself) to be a gun expert whose opinion is not to be questioned.
By only associating with with people who think the same way we do and hold all the same opinions, we create a closed loop where new ideas are not welcome. How can that be good or productive?
