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Filter Bubbles: A Modern Take on Conforming

Ever notice how a lot of the news and advertising you see on Facebook is similar or identical to previous things you have explored. For me this comes in the form of environmentally friendly period products and emotionally driven videos that aim to make you cry, in addition to  more leftest leaning news. Eli Pariser names this phenomenon "filter bubbles". And Facebook isn't the only company using algorithms to enhance your web browsing experience. Yahoo, Google, The New York Times, and Huffington Post all use variations of filter bubbles to provide you with exactly the kinds of things you want to see.

Originally Pariser believed an algorithm was responsible for the content shown on your browsers. Facebook did a study to prove that while the algorithm does play a role, it is who you are friends with on Facebook who provide a larger data set for them to use. Facebook has also taken steps to change their algorithm to have less tunnel vision. (See: Article Did Facebook Kill Filter Bubble's?) 

But what does this really mean in our modern age? In an age where many people use social media sites as their primary source of information, found this Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal web comic by Zach Weinersmith to be apropos. (Warning! Occasionally NSFW)
Comic Not My Own
Perhaps Facebook is giving us exactly what we want. And maybe that in and of itself is the problem. We are no longer conscious of the information put in front of us. We digest it whether or not it is good for us, since it is specially curated for us based on our friends and tastes it must be exactly what we need.

If you do want a wider scope of information, then you do need to diversify the people and pages you follow on Facebook. Guess I'll be keeping that politically charged Aunt, who voted for the candidate I didn't, on my friend's list.

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Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 8, 2017 at 8:03 PM

    I love that FB blames its users for the "echo chamber". Is it our own fault? Do we have to keep nasty Aunt Sally on our Friend List just so we can see all of the news we want? Should we have the right to be friends with whomever we want AND still get all the news that's fit to print in our feed?

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    Replies
    1. Meg.FatzingerOctober 9, 2017 at 8:31 AM

      I think FB is doing exactly as it should, it's catering to the majority. IMHO most people want to see like-minded thoughts, they don't want to be challenged, especially on a platform like FB. How many times have you seen people post about cleaning out their Friend's List to only include those who vote along the same lines or agree on an issue? I think we are as much to blame as FB.

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