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The original concept of the social media “filter bubble,” which first debuted circa 2010, is back. A new book from Kyle Chayka called “Filterworld” describes how social media is flattening our culture and making all kinds of invisible decisions for us. Humans are no longer in control; instead, it’s the social media algorithms that determine what you see, who you interact with, and how you experience the internet.
The tyranny of the algorithm
The crazy part about all of this, of course, is that many of us do not even recognize that it’s happening. It seems perfectly reasonable that all of our friends and followers on social media believe exactly what we believe, or that we’re shown the types of products we like, over and over again.
According to “Filterworld,” the net result of all this is to transform us all into passive consumers and docile citizens. We’re never really challenged to experiment beyond our comfort zone. And for good reason. Social media is all about clicks and engagement. So why would a social media platform like Facebook show you content that you might not click on or read? Once Facebook knows all about your interests and preferences, it can do a very good job of predicting exactly what you want to read, hear, and see.
The problem, quite simply, is that humans are no longer making editorial decisions. Remember the time when news editors chose which stories were most important, and made sure you saw them? Remember when music critics found up-and-coming bands that sounded different, or were completely unconventional in their lyrics? Or when film critics talked up new “art house” movies? Well, those days are over.
What does “Filterworld” look like?
Social media algorithms don’t like that type of content, because it’s not clickable and it won’t go viral. So they won’t show it to you. And that’s really a shame, says “Filterworld,” because it means there’s a certain type of content that’s doomed to the historical dustbin. Say goodbye to film directors who don’t fit the typical Hollywood mold. Say goodbye to book writers who don’t have big social media followings. And say goodbye to musical bands who ignore Spotify.
Think back to your high school or college days, when professors told you about artists who never became famous in their own lifetimes, but only posthumously. Well, those artists never would have had a chance in the social media age. If their first book flopped, or their first musical release didn’t go viral, they never would have been seen or heard from again on social media. That’s why “Filterworld” talks about the “flattening” of culture. At some point, if you’re too “pointy,” the algorithm will reject you.
Possible solutions
“Filterworld” doesn’t sound like a fun place to hang out, but it doesn’t look like things are going to change anytime soon. If anything, artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to make the social media algorithms smarter and smarter, and that’s going to trap us even more within “Filterworld.”
One solution might be to break up the big social media companies. Or, at least, to force them to become less of the walled gardens that they are today. That way, they would need to find new ways to compete for users. At some point, that would force them to come up with new algorithms based on factors beyond just engagement (i.e. clicks and likes). Or, potentially, force them to abandon those algorithms altogether. That might just be the only way people like you and me will ever be able to leave “Filterworld” forever.
