Echo chambers? Filter bubbles? The misleading metaphors that obscure the real problem

Abstract

Many politicians, journalists and scholars suggest that echo chambers and filter bubbles are chiefly responsible for the emergence of communities, particularly online, that espouse contrarian and counterfactual perspectives and ideologies, and for their disconnect from the societal mainstream. Echo chambers are said to enable these groups to reinforce their views by connecting with like-minded others; filter bubbles to shield them from encountering contrary perspectives. They are assumed to result from a combination of individual choice, in selecting the news sources to consult or the social media accounts to follow, and the algorithmic shaping of such choices, as search engines, news portals and social media platforms highlight and recommend some sources over others. Rigorous empirical evidence for the operation of such processes is sorely lacking, however. Building on empirical studies that show no significant evidence of filter bubbles or echo chambers in search or social media, this chapter argues that echo chambers and filter bubbles principally constitute an unfounded moral panic that presents a convenient technological scapegoat for a much more critical, fundamentally human-made problem: growing social and political polarization. The ‘echo chamber’ and ‘filter bubble’ metaphors have seriously distracted us from addressing that problem, and must now be put to rest.