Breaking out of the echo chamber loop
hunterclarke.me
Breaking out of the echo chamber loop
1–10 of 19 posts
Re: Breaking out of the echo chamber loop
#2... yelled into the cave.
Re: Breaking out of the echo chamber loop
#3For some reason, this makes me think of the difference between dealing with all the recruiter spam that comes at me and actively seeking out a place doing something I want to help succeed. In the former my possibility is constrained by who is paying to serve me up while in the latter I am an active participant in my life, altering my environment to enact a transcript I'm constantly discovering and modifying. I have to remain aware that I'm establishing my own phenomenological context but I find that sort of consideration good for the soul.
Re: Breaking out of the echo chamber loop
#4Personally, I don't think it's worthwhile to try to game the algorithms that are in place for the experience you desire.
I don't really believe people want out of echo chambers as much as they say they do. I don't find many conservatives dabbling in Modern Monetary Theory or many liberals trying to solve problems in rural America that already don't afflict their own groups. They're quite content sitting just where they are and continuing to justify their disinterest in the rest of the world. In this vein, I don't think what they're in is really an echo chamber. These kind of people seem to be geared more towards getting others to see what they see in their own interests/causes/etc... and if you just aren't that interested, then you're maybe not an enemy but certainly not a friend or maybe even a likable stranger.
I started off with politics as an example because it's the first place I noticed this behavior, but it really stretches into any vein of interest that people have. There's entire rivalries that form around online personas or ideologies in a given domain that are just as divisive as politics, however, they stay penned up in their own domain so you only come across them when you're in communities of a certain mass.
Try to run from whatever this is all you want. The only way I started making friends (and trusting) people of different persuasions and lifestyles from mine was getting out in the real world again.
Re: Breaking out of the echo chamber loop
#5Personally, I don't think it's worthwhile to try to game the algorithms that are in place for the experience you desire. I don't really believe people want out of echo chambers as much as they say they do. I don't find many conservatives dabbling in Modern Monetary Theory or many liberals trying to solve problems in rural America that already don't afflict their own groups. They're quite content sitting just where th…
Author here. I agree that most people aren't actively looking to break out of the comfortable, algorithmically generated corner of the internet they read. I like a lot of the topics that are suggested to me. Youtube is spot on in a lot of its suggestions.
But I'm not sure that the "slice" of the internet I'm exposed to is the best one for me. Especially over a long enough time period. I'm in a different season of life than I was in high school or college. But there's quite a bit of "inertia" behind these algorithms that keep me coming back to the same content I read back then (5-10 years ago).
I don't think there's a good set of digital tools out there for saying "I want off the ride." Or at least "I'd like to ride a different ride for a minute."
I think if we want to enable self-educators, there has to be a better suite of tools available to those who want to be presented with diverse ideas.
Just my 2 cents.
+1 for getting out in the real world.
Re: Breaking out of the echo chamber loop
#6Personally, I don't think it's worthwhile to try to game the algorithms that are in place for the experience you desire. I don't really believe people want out of echo chambers as much as they say they do. I don't find many conservatives dabbling in Modern Monetary Theory or many liberals trying to solve problems in rural America that already don't afflict their own groups. They're quite content sitting just where th…
Real world is great, but even most online forums (like this one) are much better than an advertising-supported, algorithm-driven addiction feed.
Re: Breaking out of the echo chamber loop
#7Is there any proof that the algorithmic echo chamber is a real thing? I don’t use any social media that has algorithmic curation, but I still get the strong feeling that I’m in a bubble whenever I encounter other internet bubbles. How much is just caused by me choosing to see things I already agree with instead of a computer choosing for me?
Re: Breaking out of the echo chamber loop
#8Personally, I don't think it's worthwhile to try to game the algorithms that are in place for the experience you desire. I don't really believe people want out of echo chambers as much as they say they do. I don't find many conservatives dabbling in Modern Monetary Theory or many liberals trying to solve problems in rural America that already don't afflict their own groups. They're quite content sitting just where th…
Author here. I agree that most people aren't actively looking to break out of the comfortable, algorithmically generated corner of the internet they read. I like a lot of the topics that are suggested to me. Youtube is spot on in a lot of its suggestions. But I'm not sure that the "slice" of the internet I'm exposed to is the best one for me. Especially over a long enough time period. I'm in a different season of lif…
I'll add that I believe there is a meaningful (perhaps not overwhelming) percentage of people who would be interested in getting exposure to things "outside their bubble" simply for the sake of self-improvement and better understanding the world around them.
I would put myself in that category -- at least up to a certain (limited) percentage of my media-consuming time.
Re: Breaking out of the echo chamber loop
#9Personally, I don't think it's worthwhile to try to game the algorithms that are in place for the experience you desire. I don't really believe people want out of echo chambers as much as they say they do. I don't find many conservatives dabbling in Modern Monetary Theory or many liberals trying to solve problems in rural America that already don't afflict their own groups. They're quite content sitting just where th…
I tried breaking out of my echo chambers and found:
1) It's all echo chambers everywhere. It's just a matter of which you pick.
2) Finding/identifying high quality echo chambers with mind-opening discussion is hard especially when you are not an insider
3) You might find a bubble you like OK and then suddenly the bubble is talking enthusiastically about how, yup, cyclists pretty much deserve to die. Well, you happen to be a (law-abiding) cyclist, and by god that hurts to hear.
I've found if I want to continue seeing the best in everyone, there's a portion of the population I just shouldn't talk to. At least online.
Re: Breaking out of the echo chamber loop
#10Is there any proof that the algorithmic echo chamber is a real thing? I don’t use any social media that has algorithmic curation, but I still get the strong feeling that I’m in a bubble whenever I encounter other internet bubbles. How much is just caused by me choosing to see things I already agree with instead of a computer choosing for me?
I actually think it's a bit of both. You select for things you like, and avoid things you don't. Then the algorithm says "I can help with that." The problem is that you can't tell it to stop even if you want it to.
Finding other sources of community and content that isn't centered around a feed is a good idea as well.