Sorry to Burst Your Bubble…

Salvete omnes! How we receive the News changes almost as frequently as Ancient Rome changed emperors?. Starting with an oral tradition, moving to the written word, and shifting again with the rise of the machines. There is no escaping the News. Not that you would want to because as humans we have an innate desire to be “in the know”, and how we receive the News today completely depends on our browser history.  

Earlier today, I was watching a TEDTalk featuring Eli Pariser, titled Beware Online “Filter Bubbles”. In the video, he states that, “There is no standard Google anymore”. For reasons I was not quite sure of at the time caused this statement to stick with me through the rest of my viewing. I guess it might have been because I had never considered that my google search would be any different from that of my Fiance or of a classmate if we were both Googling for information on the same topic. But nevertheless, during his presentation, Pariser describes having asked a bunch of his friends to do just that and their search results were drastically different. He continues by explaining that these discrepancies are the result of filter bubbles.

So what is a filter bubble and what does it want?

Essentially, filter bubbles are created by algorithms based on your click behavior, browsing history, search history and location, that try to provide you with information that reflects information you have read in the past. As a result of this process, filter bubbles isolate you from individuals and media outlets who might challenge you views.

Is this why I can never find any good sources for my Greek Archaeology papers? Because Google know that my heart belongs to Rome!?

So I began to consider some of the other websites and apps I use on a regular basis. Both my Netflix and my Pandora accounts filter movies and music based on my preference.  The same can be said for my Amazon purchases and the videos that YouTube recommends to me. These are all examples of filter bubbles.

However the biggest controversy in the bubble debate is the role that Facebook plays. Facebook, while used to keep up with friends and family, has also become a venue for discussion for a variety of topics, the most notable being politics. The implementation of filter bubbles on Facebook is seriously harming the ability to have insightful discussions with individuals who would challenge our political views. Instead, we are now being surrounded by friends and other individuals with like-minded ideas about politics. It’s bad because this is seriously affecting our ability to respectfully disagree with one another without resulting into unnecessary name-calling and arguments.

In an article from 2015 called, Facebook: If your feed is an echo chamber, you need more friends, the author, Mariella Moon, reports on Facebook’s investigation into the filter bubble effect. In the article she discusses a study conducted by Facebook that,  “admits that the filter bubble effect is real -- in varying degrees,” and according to Facebook, “Friends are more likely to be similar in age, educational attainment, occupation and geography. It is not surprising to find that the same holds true for political affiliation on Facebook”. Even though they are at the heart of this controversy, the tone painted by Facebook seems to be one of guilt and an attempt to pass the blame to users.

However, a more recent article, this time from 2017, suggests Facebook is taking initiative in this fight against filter bubble by updating the Trending news section. This gives me a little hope for the future because the first step to solving a problem is admitting that you have one. With time we can hope that filter bubbles are as fleeting as the seasons and we will again be able to receive our News without wearing blinders.