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THE FILTER BUBBLE (MOD#5 post4)

     Facebook seems to have picked up on the rumor that their site is encouraging "filter bubbles" and "echo chambers." One of the articles states that Facebook has attempted to reduce this effect by making it so that when a user on Facebook clicks on an ad or news story, that, instead of ads or news from the same source reappearing, ads and news related to that topic will appear from a variety of sources. This is to provide the user with a variety of different view points on a particular topic.

     However, Facebook seems to be skeptical overall about the idea that their website creates these "filter bubbles" and "echo chambers." Through one of their own studies, they claim that it isn't their fault, but rather the users' fault for surrounding themselves with friends who have the same or similar points of view as them.

I have to disagree with Facebook's attitude towards this phenomenon as almost 100% of the advertisements and news that I see on my Facebook is tailored to me based on my searches, and clicks. I do have Facebook friends who hold opposite views from my own, yet outside their own posts, I don't receive anything from the sources that they use. Facebook admitted that "filter bubbles" and "echo chambers" are real, so seeing how they are the number one social media site on the internet, to think they would take something so relevant more seriously. Pariser himself expressed this exact point as well. In his response to Facebook's claim, Pariser states that Facebook is downplaying the seriousness of the issue. He even suggests that Facebook's study is inaccurate as the sample was too small, there were inconsistencies in the research, and the fact that Facebook's team itself conducted the research.

     The articles stated that there are two kinds of news. One kind is "soft news," which would be entertainment, fashion, and travel related news. The other kind is "hard news," which is the more serious news involving the economy, government choices, health care, and other non-trivial items. Perhaps it would be okay to have an "echo chamber" for soft-news, but when it comes to something as serious as "hard news," it would be beneficial to have a variety of perspectives.

 SOURCES:

 Conditt, Jessica. “Facebook Redesigns Trending Topics in Its War on Echo Ch.” Engadget, Oath Inc., 25 May 2017, www.engadget.com/2017/05/24/facebook-trending-topic-redesign-filter-bubbles-echo-chamber/.

 Moon, Mariella. “Facebook: If Your Feed Is an Echo Chamber, You Need More Friends.”Engadget, Oath Inc., 14 July 2016, www.engadget.com/2015/05/08/facebook-if-your-news-feed-is-an-echo-chamber-you-need-more-fr/.

 Pariser, Eli. “Did Facebook's Big Study Kill My Filter Bubble Thesis?” Medium, Backchannel, 7 May 2015, medium.com/backchannel/facebook-published-a-big-new-study-on-the-filter-bubble-here-s-what-it-says-ef31a292da95.

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 7, 2017 at 1:03 PM

    It is troubling to me also that the largest social media site on the Internet knows that this is a problem and not only doesn't do much about it, plays the "it's your own fault" card. I like to surround myself with people of all backgrounds and ideas and I always read articles from both sides of an issue yet many social media sites persist in "gearing" to one side of things. As for the "soft" and "hard" news, yes, one is more important than the other, but I don't know that I want anyone in on what I am exposed to.

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