The Filter Bubble Summary

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In his book The Filter Bubble, Eli Pariser argued, “Our individual filter bubbles contribute to the polarization and divisiveness in society by reinforcing our biases and ignoring alternative viewpoints” (Pariser). This paper will observe the relationship between “bubbles” in the acquisition of knowledge and the reinforcing of bias/blocking of viewpoints, both limiting the knowledge available to any acquisition. To explore the selected inquiry above, it must first be interpreted to gain a comprehensive understanding of precisely what this investigation is answering. The inquiry refers to “bubbles” in an acquisition of knowledge, where some information and voices are excluded. For this paper, the “bubbles” will be interpreted as any means that …show more content…

History textbook, which “ includes a map that refers to forcibly imported Africans in 1775 as ‘immigrants’” (“Bias in History Textbooks | American University”). Or progressively blatant about the bias, a Texas school assigned Prentice Hall Classics: A History of the United States in 2018, which argues “that “many [slaves] may not have even been terribly unhappy with their lot, for they knew no other””(Bias in History Textbooks | American University). The bias written into textbooks, a literary tool with the responsibility of being strictly factual, creates “bubbles” of information that withhold perspectives, and therefore creates a lack of understanding and knowledge in students relying on the textbooks as educational tools. The relationship between the acquisition of knowledge and the “bubbles” created within it is observed within the area of literature; however, the relationship is not as clearly displayed within the area of human sciences. That is, it is less easily quantifiable. One example of “bubbles” within the acquisition of knowledge in the area of human sciences is the use of …show more content…

They can lead to people becoming more fixed in their opinions, and creating a self-reinforcing cycle of information consumption. This has led many to believe it is the cause of increasing political polarization within the United States. In a 2023 Harvard study, scientists analyzed 2020 data for all adult Americans with active Facebook accounts, finding that the majority of the content that people see on the platform comes from ‘like-minded sources’” (“Facebook and the echo chamber: scientists examine how social media affects political views”). That is, people mainly see sources that share their political leanings, which then limits their exposure to diverse perspectives. By favoring narratives and ideologies that align with a person’s own opinions, echo chambers create exclusionary bubbles on social media and therefore limit any possible acquisition of knowledge. By limiting our acquisition of knowledge to “bubbles” where voices or information are excluded, we limit the amount of knowledge available to us, as shown in the areas of human sciences and

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