Defining filter bubbles and what you need to know about filter bubbles?

Find out more about filter bubbles on social media and the internet! Click here to learn more about how filter bubbles affect society, news, and much more. Learn about how to detect these filter bubbles and echo chambers and what you can do to counteract them. 

As someone who doesn’t like social media but cannot seem to quit it completely, I end up reading article after article on the pros and cons of completely unplugging from social media. In the cons many authors will say you will be less connected, or you will know less information. However, I can’t say I agree with that because the connections and information found on social media is flawed because it is curated and filtered to fit what we already think. In other words, our social media feed is a filter bubble. 

Defining filter bubbles

Filter bubbles are also commonly called echo chambers. The piece “The Causes and Effects of Filter Bubbles and how to Break Free” quotes internet activist Eli Pariser where he says filter bubbles are “your filter bubble is your own personal, unique universe of information that you live in online.” He then highlights that the user has no control of what is put in this universe of information, and they never see what has been edited out. 

In other words, filter bubbles or echo chambers create a feed  of information on your social media that is solely showing information that will confirm what you already believe. 

What effects do Filter bubbles have on our society 

Filter bubbles affect our society more than we realize. On the surface it seems kind of nice that my Instagram feed is filled with things I am interested in. However, when considering the large amount of people that get their news from social media the impact of these filter bubbles instantly become more serious. 

The GCF Global piece “How filter bubbles isolate you” goes into detail about how filter bubbles infer with our ability to know if we are actually getting all the facts and information about a news story. As well, the piece also talks about how these filter bubbles in the online universe trickle into “lack of understanding and an unwillingness to consider opposing viewpoints and unfavorable information” in the real world. 

What you need to know about filter bubbles:

If you use the internet and social media like most people do in this technological age it is next to impossible to avoid filter bubbles and echo chambers. Therefore, it is paramount to learn how to detect them. 

NPR’s article “The Reason Your Feed Became An Echo Chamber — And What To Do About It” talks about the importance of trying to understand and counteract filter bubbles when getting information on the internet and social media. The article lays out a couple different ways to try and deal with filter bubbles, but the one that I most highly recommend is to try and get off social media more. “Maybe it’s time to get off social media… at least for a little bit,” the NPR article wrote. 

It is hard to stay off social media completely with technology being so ingrained how we do everything. Many jobs, clubs, companies, etc. will make it necessary for you to have some sort of online presence. However, that does not mean you have to get all your information online. 

Watch news broadcasts, read news directly from a trusted news outlet, and most importantly talk and discuss with people in real life in order to get out of your filter bubble. What actions have you taken to counteract social media created filter bubbles and echo chambers? Comment below your answers!