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Algorithms don't cause filter bubbles, people do

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Re: Algorithms don't cause filter bubbles, people do

#21

Post by esperent »

umvi wrote: post #8

I created my own bubble on Facebook. People would write or share these inflammatory political posts I disagreed with, but I just knew if I commented it would cause contention (which I wanted to avoid since these are my friends), so instead I "unfollowed". A few dozen unfollows later, and I'm now magically in a bubble where my feed is devoid of inflammatory political posts! I did the same thing with reddit. Unsubscrib…

I did the same, but I unfollowed everyone - literally everyone, including my family. Blissful peace!

The obvious result of this was that I realized nothing changed when I did this, except for less useless info entering my eyes, and I gradually stopped using FB almost entirely. Now I check if there are any interesting events on every week or two, and that's it (although I still use messenger - attempts to get friends and family to switch have had mixed results).

Re: Algorithms don't cause filter bubbles, people do

#23

Post by optimalsolver »

ben509 wrote: post #16
umvi wrote: post #8

I created my own bubble on Facebook. People would write or share these inflammatory political posts I disagreed with, but I just knew if I commented it would cause contention (which I wanted to avoid since these are my friends), so instead I "unfollowed". A few dozen unfollows later, and I'm now magically in a bubble where my feed is devoid of inflammatory political posts! I did the same thing with reddit. Unsubscrib…

Likewise. What's dismaying is that there's no practical way on Facebook to have civil discussions about politics, it just doesn't work. I don't think it'd even be all that hard. What you'd want to do is have a mode for contentious topics whereby personal identities are hidden, so there's no personal investment and only ideas are presented. And you'd want to be able to cite problems with a claim, i.e. you select some…

>What's dismaying is that there's no practical way on Facebook to have civil discussions about politics, it just doesn't work

I think that applies to the Internet in general, including HN.

I've never seen an online community improved by allowing more object-level political discussion.

Re: Algorithms don't cause filter bubbles, people do

#24

Post by sokoloff »

floatrock wrote: post #9

And "litterbug" was a term invented by the packaging industry in a PR campaign that shifted blame about packaging waste from the manufacturers to the consumers. This is a low-effort content marketing fluff piece that just says this company's recommendation engine has a "serendipity knob." It avoids the pernicious bits like how business models built on eyeball engagement result in a death march towards maximizing enga…

Litterbug is a real thing though, IMO. I don't want Coke to sell me a handful of Coke; I want it in a watertight container. If, when I'm done with that container, I throw it on the ground, how is that Coke's fault?

Same question for a fast-food wrapper. Do we think McDonalds should serve its food loose?

Re: Algorithms don't cause filter bubbles, people do

#26

Post by dkdbejwi383 »

sokoloff wrote: post #24
floatrock wrote: post #9

And "litterbug" was a term invented by the packaging industry in a PR campaign that shifted blame about packaging waste from the manufacturers to the consumers. This is a low-effort content marketing fluff piece that just says this company's recommendation engine has a "serendipity knob." It avoids the pernicious bits like how business models built on eyeball engagement result in a death march towards maximizing enga…

Litterbug is a real thing though, IMO. I don't want Coke to sell me a handful of Coke; I want it in a watertight container. If, when I'm done with that container, I throw it on the ground, how is that Coke's fault? Same question for a fast-food wrapper. Do we think McDonalds should serve its food loose?

They could lease the watertight container to you for a deposit, and when you return the watertight container to them, they clean it and re-use it.

Re: Algorithms don't cause filter bubbles, people do

#28

Post by frompdx »

umvi wrote: post #8

I created my own bubble on Facebook. People would write or share these inflammatory political posts I disagreed with, but I just knew if I commented it would cause contention (which I wanted to avoid since these are my friends), so instead I "unfollowed". A few dozen unfollows later, and I'm now magically in a bubble where my feed is devoid of inflammatory political posts! I did the same thing with reddit. Unsubscrib…

Unfollowing everyone was how I was eventually able to break myself of my addiction to Facebook. Before I did this I would mindlessly pull my phone out of my pocket and look at facebook. One day I just started unfollowing people and kept doing it until my feed was empty. Empty feed meant no reason to check. I haven't logged in since 2017.

Re: Algorithms don't cause filter bubbles, people do

#29

Post by specialist »

Heh.

This line would be a full-stop for my librarian SO:

> It’s referred to in the literature as “serendipity.”

But otherwise I'm very grateful for this article.

For it reminds me that someone should update (adapt) the Propaganda Model for social media. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_model#Filters

That would be far more constructive than the alternative theories floated, eg Eli Pariser (filter bubble), Ben Thompson (aggregation model), and this technopositivistic missive.

Has anyone asked Chomsky? I've looked, but no joy.

--

Edit:

> There is always an algorithm. The default one promotes rage, controversy and misinformation. But we don’t have to stick with the default.

Clap louder, and surely Tinkerbell will fly.

Re: Algorithms don't cause filter bubbles, people do

#30

Post by choward »

esperent wrote: post #21
umvi wrote: post #8

I created my own bubble on Facebook. People would write or share these inflammatory political posts I disagreed with, but I just knew if I commented it would cause contention (which I wanted to avoid since these are my friends), so instead I "unfollowed". A few dozen unfollows later, and I'm now magically in a bubble where my feed is devoid of inflammatory political posts! I did the same thing with reddit. Unsubscrib…

I did the same, but I unfollowed everyone - literally everyone, including my family. Blissful peace! The obvious result of this was that I realized nothing changed when I did this, except for less useless info entering my eyes, and I gradually stopped using FB almost entirely. Now I check if there are any interesting events on every week or two, and that's it (although I still use messenger - attempts to get friends…

Just delete your account at this point. No reason to log into an account just to make it easier for Facebook to track you around the internet.
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