The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From You by Eli Pariser
Call Number: ZA4237 .P37 2011
Publication Date: 2011
An eye-opening account of how the hidden rise of personalization on the Internet is controlling-and limiting-the information we consume. With vivid detail and remarkable scope, The Filter Bubble reveals how personalization undermines the Internet's original purpose as an open platform for the spread of ideas and could leave us all in an isolated, echoing world.
Merriam-Webster explains that a filter bubble is "an environment, and especially an online environment, in which people are exposed only to opinions and information that conform to their existing beliefs." Filter bubbles distort reality by sheltering us from opposing perspectives. They create echo chambers, leading us to assume that everyone thinks like us and forget that other perspectives exist.
Filter bubble refers to the results of the algorithms that dictate what we encounter online. According to Eli Pariser, who coined the term, those algorithms create “a unique universe of information for each of us … which fundamentally alters the way we encounter ideas and information.”
Many websites offer personalized content selections, based on our browsing history, age, gender, location, and other data. The result is articles and posts that support our current opinions and perspectives to ensure that we enjoy what we see. Even when a site is not offering specifically targeted content, we all tend to follow people whose views align with ours.
Beware online "filter bubbles", Eli Pariser, 2011