Echo Chamber in Social Media: Simply Explained

Have you heard about the term, echo chamber? According to Cambridge Dictionary, it is “a room or space in which sound echoes.” But the dictionary also tells us about “a situation in which people only hear opinions of one type, or opinions of one type, or opinions that are similar to their own.”

Interestingly, the term is often applied to social media, where algorithms tend to show people contents that align with their existing beliefs — just like they’re trapped in a chamber with their own reflections. But is this good, or bad? Isn’t this good because it helps people filter out unwanted contents?

Let’s say you’re on a social media platform. You might have clicked “like” for contents that made sense for you. Conversely, you might not have interacted with contents that didn’t make sense for you. These kinds of small actions can be a part of data that companies can use to train their algorithms to keep people on their platform. In turn, the algorithms are more likely to show you similar contents.

Some understand how such technologies work, but some might not. That is the problem. Because not everyone is “tech-savvy,” it can lead to strong biases for many people. It prevents people from listening to diverse opinions, and eventually causes more conflicts, whether it’s about politics or any other issues.

There are many heated discussions online, some issues are really complicated. But learning how such technologies work actually helps a lot. That’s why I believe everyone should know how such technologies work in general.