Filter Bubble
The exponential expansion of the information on the web resulted
in more powerful and more sophisticated search engines. Modern search engines
use intricate algorithms to select information based on the user’s previous
online behavior to tailor search results to what the user is most likely to
like or agree with. As a result, the user is exposed to a personalized set of
information, links, sites, and pages while being under the impression that he
or she is seeing an untampered view of the World Wide Web. Though most consumers benefit from quick finds of desirable products, some
intellectuals, like Eli Pariser and Tim Berners-Lee, sounded an alarm claiming
that it would lead to information bubbles which will lock people within
comfortable but isolated, their own cultural, educational, and ideological
mini-worlds. Eli Pariser coined the term “Filter Bubble” and spoke eloquently
against limiting people’s exposure to conflicting viewpoints and information.
Watch his 9 minute presentation at
http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles.html and post
your thoughts on the issue. How can “filter bubbles” affect education and what
is the role and responsibility of educators in ensuring free access to
information?
Eli Pariser
http://www.ted.com/speakers/eli_pariser.html
Tim Berners-Lee http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee
I really enjoyed watching Eli Pariser's speech on filter bubbles. This is a concept that I have thought about before, but not in much detail. I agree with him 100 percent that filter bubbles are more of a disservice to us than a service, because we are only presented with "information junk food" and we are never presented with any information that causes us to understand different points of view or accept uncomfortable ideas. This is particularly upsetting in relation to students, because it is our job as educators to make sure they get whole, well-rounded information on various subjects, instead of just the information that they can easily accept. In my opinion, this loss of control over matter viewed is one of the bigger downfalls of technology, and I believe that it is the role of the teacher to make sure that technology is supplemented with other materials that present students will all the facts, not just the tailor-made and obvious ones.
ReplyDeleteAfter viewing the video on “Flitter Bubbles,” I was totally amazed with the information about the search engines. Basically, when surfing the internet your personal preferences are evaluated. It is important for everyone to be exposed to various types of information and topics online. Filter bubbles can affect education immensely. If students are not given assignments in reference to technology to exercise their highest potential, they will not be able to analyze and synthesize information found online. Educators should assign lessons that students need to be successful in school and as a productive citizen.
ReplyDeleteWow. Eli’s video was great, it really was. I liked his allusions that clearly paint the picture of what he’s trying to get at. My favorite was his reference to junk food; because of web-filtering, instead of balanced meal with our information vegetables and maybe a little information desert, we’re instead surrounded by information junk food. All. The. Time.
ReplyDeleteHis points about eliminating other points of view were very strong too. He mentioned something along the lines of “[we] can’t have functioning democracy if citizens didn’t get a good flow of information.” He also discussed the relevance of journalistic ethics in the early 1900s, a decision to incorporate all views into journalism, not just one.
We’re seeing the reversal of that today through filtered web searches. I also like to equate these filtered searches with cultural biases. One thing I learned in my human learning class was that it is difficult, at times, to move beyond a particular student’s cultural bias. Sometimes students are just raised in a particular fashion that only allows for certain viewpoints to be deemed acceptable; meanwhile others are cast to the side. Still, I felt that we, people, were entering a global age in which people were seeing more of the world thanks to the world wide web. I thought that cultural biases would no longer be as strong thanks to the easy access of information globally. At first the internet introduced us to different perspectives but now it is pulling that freedom away from us in the form of algorithms. Much like Wikipedia, the internet is a source of information that connects each individual to the world. Web based searches that are personalized sound great…but then think about it. Personalized web searches take away a bit of our freedom, our freedom to choose between what we want to see, what we’re uncomfortable seeing, and what we still decided to click on anyway without regard to our comfort level. We need to make mistakes but personalized web searches appear to take a little bit of that away from us. Another thing I took away from this video was the web searches he showed the audience from two of his friends. I actually tried it with my girlfriend’s iPad and my iPad but perhaps we’re too close in proximity to produce different results…after all, Eli did reveal that everything, down to where you sit, is taken into account by Google.
After I watched Eli speak, I could not believe it. I had to take a minute and compose myself after the shock of having "Filter Bubbles" explained. I have always thought that I was getting a full variety of the information that I was looking for on the search engines. In reality these sites have taken algorithms that consider what has been searched, where the computer is, and even what type of computer is used. These algorithms decide what is seem by the viewer.
ReplyDeleteI really feel like it is a big disadvantage especially in education. This means that each student or teacher will be getting different information on the same subject. It would be alright if there was a collaboration considering the different sites, but if it was an individual project one person might not get the information they need. It also keeps the students from seeing different points of view. It is important for students to see different points of view so that they are able to make decisions on their own instead of relying on the thoughts of others.
I can understand why both of these men feel the way they feel. It is like a lie because it is not the whole truth. I really think that it needs to be changed to where there are no filters. People need to be exposed to everything not just bits and pieces.
I really enjoyed the Ted Talk! I knew Facebook filtered newsfeeds, which always creeped me out and irritated me, but I had no idea Google did the same thing. How misleading! I think one way teachers can combat filter bubbles in the classroom is to present students with information from various points of view. Also, when we have students do internet searches for information it would be interesting for them to compare their finds with other students and present them with a more well-rounded view of a topic. I also think it's important, especially in an English Language Arts classroom, to teach students about the ethics of news reporting and how to convey information in an unbiased way.
ReplyDeleteI never really noticed that there were filters on what I searched for on the internet. I always knew sites such as Facebook collected information, but I thought it was more for marketing purposes. I always thought that my searches yielded a variety of websites based on the keywords in the search alone. I felt that I was under full control of what I was viewing on the internet. We should be given a choice on whether or not we want filters on any of our searches.
ReplyDeleteWe need to let our students know about what bias is and how it can affect them. They need to know that it is relevant to get information from all points of view. We need to educate our students about internet searches and teach them to use a variety of search engines to look for information. If we as educators don't inform our students, the information that they receive and even their views may be very biased. We don't want that for our students. We want them to be open minded and aware of and respectful of a variety of viewpoints.
Great video! This is something that I have noticed that happens on my own computer and especially on Facebook but never really thought much about it. I definitely never thought about all the things that are being filtered out.
ReplyDeleteFilter bubbles are what have been created online to tailor what we view on the internet to what we are most likely to want to see. This can be so dangerous in education because it severely limits what we can search for and blocks out a lot of relevant information. As educators, it is our job to, first and foremost, educate our students about this issue and hopefully give them tips on how to work around it. I know that regularly clearing your search history and cookies on your browser will help keep the search engines from picking up on your search tendencies and stop the filter bubble.
I found this presentation to be quite interesting. Eli uses great examples in explain this concept. Prior to watching this video, I had never heard of filter bubbles. I have experienced filtering from some of my social media sites, but I thought that information in a search engine like Google was everything that was available. I did not consider that the information was filtered. However, I noticed that when typing in something, often times, I would find different information from others in the same class. It can be extremely frustrating for students, I’m sure. I often get frustrated. I think as more teachers become aware of the filter bubbles they will be able to tell students to remember to cross reference information that they find with a print source. I also think that by narrowing the information in the assignment will tell the students what type of information they should be looking for.
ReplyDeleteI love TedTalks! Eli Pariser did a great job speaking to the "filter bubbles" that we find ourselves on while we utilize the internet.
ReplyDeleteI do remember becoming annoyed when I first realized that this practice was going on with Google and FaceBook. Then I heard about it through the news and I was highly upset yet it helped me to understand why I couldn't find certain things I knew existed on the internet because a friend or family member had previously shared it with me. I felt like what they were doing was worse that what was being proposed as far as the limits and controls of Net-neutrality.
I did my best to try and filter my own internet searches better. This included my searching for specific topics. I wasn't one who was keen on the 24 hour news cycle which repeated and competed on the same topics and who had the best angle or spin of the topic just for the extremes to be solidified.
I could see how it is to the advantage of certain entities on the internet to provide the everyday web browser "junk food." It's their job, for the most part, to sell something to the masses. It is so easy for the consuming nature of ourselves to be distracted by the junk and get our brains fat and unhealthy from such. It is easy to speak to what we what versus what we should need to know. It kinda explains even the strong polarizations that we see today when it comes to social media interactions.
Perhaps the creators and users only mean for everyone to live happy and peacefully with like minded individuals, but then we never truly know that there are other ways of thought. We stop seeing other viewpoints and when that happens, intellectual growth and communications become hindered because we only know one side of things.
K-12 Educators and students would do well by demonstrating such differences in the classroom along with a discussion on why getting points of views from more than one side of a story/topic are beneficial in seeing a fuller picture.
First, let me start by saying that I absolutely love Ted talks- they are very inspirational. This one was very interesting to me- and it is as if all of the pieces of the puzzle make sense. I have noticed when I am online that the majority of the ads that I receive are hair, makeup, and clothes advertisements- because that is the majority of what I look for in my spare time. I had no idea; however, that the search engine that I was using was filtering my results in this "filter bubble" based upon different factors. I figured that depending on the browser that I was using for example google or yahoo my results might be different. But I did not know depending on if I was using firefox or chrome that could change. Also I did not know that depending on where I was sitting in the world, this could change as well. I thought that when you googled things at approximately the same time, it would come up the same things. I feel that as educators we have to understand the way the internet works first, before we can explain it to our students. We have to teach our students the importance of not believing everything that you see on the internet, and being selective when faced with what could be the answer to a question. We should educate and show examples on how we can attain information from different sources along with the internet to get a full picture on a topic and a concrete foundation.
ReplyDeleteI have always assumed it to be a coincidence when "personalized" information appears when I am searching the internet or on Facebook. It goes without saying that I also had no clue that information is filtered as well. I am a little unsettled by the thought of this, feeling as if there is a conspiracy to keep us closed minded individuals.
ReplyDeleteIn the field of education, having the knowledge that the internet is showing us "what they think we need to see" vital. This knowledge is the first step in hopefully avoiding being placed in a "filter bubble." Suggestions can be found for ways to "pop the filter bubble." Suggestions can be found at
http://www.thefilterbubble.com/10-things-you-can-do, and include;" burning cookies, deleting history, and going incognito or anonymous."
TedTalks never cease to amaze me! This one definitely did! After listening to Eli Pariser's speech, I now know why that the ads on my Facebook page and on the sides of my webpages show up. I think it is crazy how the internet works - it seems as if that now my searches are not filtered to only what it thinks I like and want to see, but not what I need. It is a huge problem to know that my searches are being filtered and somewhat watched. The "filter bubble" is something that everyone needs to take note of quickly.
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ReplyDeleteI found the video to be very interesting and thought Eli had a lot of eye opening things to say. I never realized, until now, that the pop ups or ads were meant to be catered to me, which is known as a filter bubble. I kind of find it scary, like big brother is watching me, but interesting because it is picking me apart and trying to find the things I am interested in. I think the filter bubble could affect education in a hard way. I think they could filter what they thought students should really know about situations in their search for knowledge instead of the whole story. I have heard, in some states, they want to revise students from hearing some of the horror stories in history books because they think the students should only hear the positive. As educators, parents, and as people we have the responsibility to teach and educate our students about whole information and not bits and pieces because we want to shelter them or filter them from what we think is their personality type. So we need to give them the strategies to work around these systems like cleaning out their search histories and your cookies on the computer.
Ted makes a great point and it is a very informing video. I really did not understand the algorithm that was used to figure out how the search was different for each individual, but I did know that it was different for every person. The video was very informing but I felt like it took a very negative approach to the algorithm when I personally believe there is a lot of good that is being missed by this presentation. I look at it very differently than Ted. When I use google I am looking for a quick answer that pertains to a question I have. If the search engine is using the information it can pull on me that focus the search to better fit my interests I am happy it is doing so. As a football coach when I search the word bears I am very happy that it finds more answers on the Chicago Bears and not on the actual animal and I would expect a veterinarian who studies bears would be happy it is vice versa. I personally believe that Ted is doing us a service by making us aware of the fact that Google is doing this, but I wish he did it with a less dramatic approach. I am not one to think that this algorithm is going to cause a filter bubble that influences people’s views but rather help people find their desired information quicker.
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly appreciated watching Eli Pariser’s presentation. I was amazed that content viewed online differs from person to person. Filter bubbles analyze information we view online and personalize what we see when on the Internet. I feel this is a massive inconvenience to education. It is important that students are able to view the same content online. Also, it is important that we inform students of filter bubbles.
ReplyDeleteThe TED Talk with Eli was extremely interesting. It interesting to learn how the internet actually tailors your results to you according to your searches. This is called a filter bubble which basically filters information that is personalized to the user. I believe that these inconsistencies can lead to trouble with the internet in the long run on the basis of relevance. If you are constantly clicking on the first link that your search gives you then you may not be getting the most relevant information according to the subject matter. On many occasions when I use the internet ads pop up from websites that I previously looked at. I previously thought that is was a coincidence, but I now know that these pop-ups are tailored for the user. This video deemed to be extremely interesting.
ReplyDeleteI truly did enjoy watching Eli Pariser's TED talk on his "filter bubbles". I had actually never thought about this before. I guess you could call me naive. Until now, to my knowledge, whenever I typed something into Google I assumed that someone in Cairo, Egypt, or somewhere very different from Mobile, Alabama, would see the same things pop up if they googled the same thing.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me think about all of the things that I may have missed in the past. "Filter bubbles" are a serious problem. I come from a small, conservative town. Most of the people in my town have never been past city lines. I feel like that is what "filter bubbles" do to users when they restrict "outside" information from getting to us. If we are to be well rounded and knowledgeable of many subjects how will we do that if we cannot see the opposing points of view?
I do believe that something needs to be done about this and students need to understand this concept also. They need to know that they cannot rely solely on search engines, such as Google, to get all of their facts. I am not saying that Google is not a wonderful tool. I do not have a clue what we all did before Google. I just think that students need other supplemental sources.
When it comes to the filter bubble, I understand what companies like Google and Netflix are trying to do. However, when it comes to searching subjects that can help teachers and students with education Google is hindering that ability. When you limit what a person can search you limit their access to information. Sometimes the information that is needed or that is the most helpful will come from a source that people are unfamiliar with or uncomfortable with. This is an issue that I feel we need to deal with. We must be allowed in someway to have access to everything that is out there. Without it we will lack information, and when we lack information we lack power.
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