The issue of the filter bubble finally reached public discourse with the 2016 US election campaign. Suddenly algorithms are being questioned on the internet and there is increasing discussion about filter bubbles or the “bubble”. Our cooperation partner at Saferinternet.at explains what the term means and gives tips on how to burst a filter bubble.

What is a filter bubble?

​Many sites on the Internet these days use so-called algorithms . These decide in the background how and what information is or is not displayed for certain users. to give the user an overview of the (supposedly) most relevant topics

These algorithms therefore work like filters .

As a user, I find myself in a filter bubble on social networks such as Facebook. Only filtered information that the algorithm thinks is relevant to me will be displayed.

Incidentally, the term filter bubble was first described by Elli Pariser (author of “The Filter Bubble”) in a 2011 presentation .

How does a filter bubble work?

The algorithms that set the filters for us in the background use a wide variety of factors to identify what is relevant to us or not. These include:

  • Information about the computer system (operating system, browser, etc.)
  • your own surfing behavior (How often does someone come to a certain page, where does he buy something on the Internet? Which advertisements does he click on?, etc.)
  • or your own preferences (which pages are often liked/commented on Facebook, for example?).

Because these algorithms increasingly represent what we often deal with, a personalized filter bubble .

Reality check filter bubble

However, the filter bubble is not a phenomenon caused solely by digitalization.

Filters that have determined what information we see have always existed. In newspapers these are journalists and on television the moderation teams, which we choose deliberately or randomly as our primary sources of information. In the personal environment, there are friends and acquaintances with whom information, attitudes to life and experiences are regularly exchanged. In social networks, this role of filter is no longer played by a human being, but rather by a program that determines in the background what we see and how often. Through this automation, we increasingly meet people who have the same or similar opinions as us. This reinforces your own opinion in one direction or the other.

Breakout from the filter bubble

Most users find themselves in some form of filter bubble, sometimes it is weaker, sometimes it is stronger . However, it is an exaggeration to say that they are completely insulated from certain information. Because many news sites are still surfed using a direct link, automated filters from social networks or search engines can be bypassed to some extent.

However, if you would like to consciously break out of your own filter bubble , you can try it out with the help of these 4 tips:

  • Follow other content/people. Especially in social networks, it is important to follow/like content and people that you would otherwise not engage with. These can be political parties that you would not vote for or people whose opinions you do not necessarily share.
  • Use tools or alternative search engines . The use of alternative search engines such as Duckduckgo makes it possible to search for information on the Internet without any personalization. Ghostery can be installed, which severely restrict tracking by Facebook or Google.
  • Source and media criticism. The information presented in your own social networks should be regularly checked and questioned. Especially when it comes to highly emotional topics, one is quickly tempted to believe so-called fake news.
  • Use other (analog) media . Don’t rely on digital information alone. Other media such as print, TV or radio make it possible to take a different look at certain things and to deal with them.

Source: Saferinternet.at

Also read: Fake news brings the largest audience


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )