Glossary: Filter Bubble
Launch library · evergreen read
A filter bubble describes the way personalised systems can gradually narrow down what a person actually sees over time, prioritising content similar to what they have previously engaged with before and steadily reducing exposure to unfamiliar or genuinely contrasting material that might otherwise broaden their overall view of things quite considerably over time.
The concept itself is closely related to an echo chamber but describes a somewhat different underlying mechanism, one shaped primarily by automated curation systems working quietly in the background, rather than by a person's own deliberate, conscious choices about which sources or communities to actively follow and engage with over time.
Deliberately seeking out sources well outside a usual pattern, and occasionally checking what an unfamiliar perspective genuinely looks like on a given topic, is a genuinely practical way to counter a filter bubble's steady narrowing effect over time, keeping your overall view of a topic considerably wider.