“Breaking the filter bubble: democracy and design” sheds some light on the issue of misinformation that is plaguing the country today. According to the article, despite more access to information than ever on the internet, algorithms used by search engines decrease information diversity, causing filter bubbles.
Due to confirmation bias, human nature is to seek out information that confirms our existing beliefs. The filter bubbles created by search engines however reinforce this bias even more. For some topics, this might not be a bad thing. If you are a Taylor Swift fan right now you aren’t going to want to see an article defending Jake Gyllenhaal when you google information about her new album. However, this can be very detrimental when dealing with less lighthearted topics, like vaccines and the election.
If someone is already against vaccines, when they search for information they are going to be presented with information that confirms that belief instead of more reliable sources due to the filter bubble. This is very detrimental, as people should be seeing accurate information when it comes to issues of public health. Altering filter bubbles to make them less biased could potentially save lives in this instance.
Confirmation bias is human nature, but perhaps our search engines should be challenging that. Especially when it comes to the spread of misinformation, what is the cost of showing people what they want to see?
I think this is a really interesting point Kate. The cost of showing people what they want to see could mean spreading misinformation as well. People often become to comfortable with the information presented to them, and most times don’t do their own research if it is factual or not. If they are shown something that aligns with their beliefs, they most likely make an effort to check its accurracy.