The Filter Bubble

The Filter Bubble

While exploring the effects of the filter bubble I decided to compare what came up in my YouTube, Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Netflix to what came up on my Dad's. The results where strange. All of these sites seemed to cater around what we like. For example, the videos that YouTube recommended for me where all video game related. The majority of which being for League of Legends and Overwatch. Then I went to my Dads, he is not super big into video games but he recently built his own PC using YouTube for part reviews and to look at builds. This was very evident when looking at the recommended section. He was recommended videos like "RX 480 doesn't suck" and "The silver bullet PC of the month". He was also recommended Videos on sports like "Cowboys vs Packers week 6". Amazingly enough the gaming videos that seemed to be all that my YouTube consisted of where nowhere to be found on his and the PC building videos where nonexistent on mine. As I continued my search through his Amazon, Google, and Netflix this was a consistent theme. His Amazon was computer parts, because that was where he purchased his computer parts while mine was all textbooks, headphone adapters, and phone cases because that is what I purchased. What it seemed like to me was that your internet starts out as a blank slate. As you write on the slate, look up things that you like or that you find interesting, your internet picks up on it. It then adds what you looked up to a list of things that it thinks that you are going to like seeing in the future and shows you related things based on that list. As Eli Pariser put it, it creates a "personal ecosystem of information thats been catered by these algorithms" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filter_bubble). But why does this even matter? Whats the big deal? Well, this filter bubble is a big deal because it is a fact barrier. With the algorithms set to only cater to you and your views it denies you from the truth. It puts you comfort and pleasure above knowing. The whole concept of the filter bubble also reminded me of this scene from Minority Report

I was reminded of this because it goes along with the idea of catering. But instead of basing what is shown on searches and what you watch it was instead based on your purchase history. While continuing my search I hit all of the sites that I did before but instead of using someones account and search history I went on incognito mode. This provided yet another unique result. YouTube for example provided what I see as more mainstream content. A lot of the videos where of popular music videos and presidential debates. But what I found very interesting was this.

Before you even begin to search and fill out your "list" of things that appeal to you the site starts probing you for information on your preferences. Amazon had a similar approach in the fact that it, like YouTube, displayed the popular areas. I also began to think about Tubes while researching this. I would think that since networks are connected on a need for speed if networks holding a lot of similar information where connected to increase the speed that you can receive more recommendations for like things (Tubes Chapter 3). I also thought back to chapter 5 in Pattern on the Stone, which was about algorithms. Since an algorithm is a mathematical equation that will solve a problem what is the equation for preference? And how do you decide that your equation meets every persons wants? (Pattern on the Stone Chapter 5).

Works Cited

Hillis, W. Daniel. "Chapter 5." The Pattern on the Stone: The Simple Ideas That Make Computers Work. New York: Basic, 1998. Print.

Blum, Andrew. Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet. New York: Ecco, 2012. Print.

"Filter Bubble." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 17 Oct. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filter_bubble>.