No. 286 · Evidence · Sociology
Filter Bubble
A feed that learns what you like can quietly shrink your view of the world.
In the Almanac
“Ending the Fairness Doctrine”, 1987–1988 · “Ground News”, 2018
Both stories in full, three ways to use it and where it misleads.
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Questions
What is Filter Bubble?
A filter bubble forms when personalised feeds learn from our clicks and show us more of what we already believe. Because the missing viewpoints never appear, we rarely notice what we are not seeing, and our judgments can feel informed while resting on a lopsided picture.
How do you use Filter Bubble?
To escape it, diversify your sources, compare how different outlets cover the same story, reset your recommendations now and then, and spend time offline with people who see the world differently.
When does Filter Bubble matter?
Filter Bubble is one of the 68 mental models for evidence, the situations where you ask: Is this really true? Within that, it belongs to “Where information comes from”, alongside Bias from Incentives, Echo Chambers and Garbage In Garbage Out.
What is an example of Filter Bubble?
Two stories show it at work: Ending the Fairness Doctrine (1987–1988) and Ground News (2018). Both are told in full in The Mental Models Daily Almanac, which has two stories for each of its 365 models.
Which mental models are related to Filter Bubble?
Echo Chambers, Confirmation Bias and Dopamine Loop. Filter Bubble itself comes from sociology.