Should Social Media Burst Filter Bubbles?
Yes.
Why?
I don’t think I’ve ever had a greater shock in my life than when Donald Trump was elected as president of the United States. Filter bubbles — especially where the 2016 presidential election is concerned — have proven to be harmful. They create an escapism via selective news, an ignorance to unbiased media or real world issues. Filter bubbles engage us in a digital world filled with stories that are personalized just for us, blocking out specific opinions, specific stories that it doesn’t think we’d like to see.
I can kind of understand the thought process behind Facebook and other social media websites for embracing the filter bubble. You want to create a user-friendly experience. You want to connect people with topics they care about and others who share their views on the world so that they enjoy their time online. The intentions were good. The results? Not so much. I feel that it is debilitating in such a subtle way that we hardly even notice it. That is, until we are struck with a terrifying reality. Much like Donald Trump placed in arguably one of the most powerful positions in the world.
The truth is, there are some things we probably should see that we might not necessarily want to. The last thing I want to spend my time doing is reading an article praising Trump’s plans for the States. It’s going to make me feel angry, sad, disappointed, but maybe that’s what I really need to see. After all, a functioning democracy involves everyone’s voice, not just the ones I agree with. Maybe it will make me better understand the issue and therefore be better equipped to take action against it, but I have to be able to see all sides of it. Unfortunately, in accordance with the way the filter bubbles work, I have to want to see it, or seek it out myself.
Maybe this is another reason why the issues of Canada’s Indigenous people are consistently forced to the side, forgotten. No one wants to see them. Aleppo has been recently in the media but I’ve spoken to people with no idea what’s going on over there. Visualizing the world through rose-tinted glasses doesn’t actually make it a good place, and it doesn’t give us the initiative to seek out problems and change them either. You aren’t going to take up arms and make change unless you see there is a real need for it.
Additionally, you aren’t going to be able to defeat your enemy unless you understand them. That’s a rather dramatic and roundabout way of saying that you need to hear people out, even if their opinion is strongly opposed to what you believe. If you don’t understand where they’re coming from, how do you ever intend to change their mind? Filter bubbles cut those people from your online experience, and that’s a step in the wrong direction. It is also — quite possibly — what caused such a huge divide in American politics, a lack of open discussion and opportunity to interact online.
In no way am I suggesting we’re all going to get along, but at least sans filter bubbles we might be able to garner a better understanding of each other and opposing opinions. Without the bubble to separate us, we will be able to challenge one another.
If I hadn’t been 100% blindly convinced by the media I was seeing, that there was no way Donald Trump was going to win, I might have been able to do more — even as a Canadian. Americans probably felt that way tenfold. But we were so at ease inside the comfort of our carefully selected media, there was no need for drastic protest, extreme opposition to the candidate that couldn’t possibly win. It’s ongoing, I’m seeing everyone online that shares my opinion so dejected by his win. What are his supporters thinking right now?
It’s a little bit Orwell-ish, in the way that selective information is being kept from us. But in the same way, we are so cozy in the filter bubble that it also reflects themes from Huxley’s Brave New World. We hardly care to know, we believe we know enough already.
This is why the bubble needs to burst. Wasn’t it the intention of social media to open us up to all information in the first place? What has occurred since the development of this algorithm is an unbalanced online society, more divided than ever before.
The trouble is, it’s unlikely that sites are going to be removing the algorithm anytime soon.
This becomes especially concerning when you consider how strongly this generation is affected by things online. We emulate social media, in a way. It affects our language, our mood, what’s at the forefront of our minds. If we allow ourselves to remain blinded by this online trend, it won’t simply be online anymore.
An article for New Scientist — which you can find here — suggests that by seeking out alternative opinions to our own, we can at least keep ourselves more open-minded and better informed on current issues. Alternatively, using fact-checking websites and specific articles in order to make sure the information we’re getting is unbiased and fair. Bursting the filter bubble would be difficult, but I think it’s necessary for improving our understanding of the world and each other. By eliminating what ultimately divides us, we can continue as a functioning democracy and hopefully make better changes in the future.
