Online filter bubbles are an example of something that many consumers are not aware of and do not understand how they impact their lives. Most consumers believe that they are safe online and that companies always have consumer privacy as their top priority. These filter bubbles create a space where consumers do not have control over the information they receive or the content they view. Filter bubbles do not necessarily become a problem until marketers use them to manipulate consumers. Filter bubbles have the ability to evolve into a persistent problem in the future, but also have the potential to enhance the personal touch that consumers crave. Filter bubbles are highly relevant, and consumers today need to be informed of what they are exactly and how to identify and opt-out if that is what the consumer so chooses to do.
Filter bubbles will not be stopped as of now, but the effect that they have on social behavior can be reduced. The biggest concern with filter bubbles is that citizens have no common basis for agreement or connection when their feed of information is extremely polarized. Based on a stream of data points, companies can curate content to what a consumer will like. Consumers are getting a very narrow worldview based on the information being presented to them by the algorithms that create filter bubbles. These filter bubbles are fed by our human weaknesses like, “We all tend to read content that we agree with. We don’t want our ideas to be challenged, and we don’t want to be around people who disagree with us. Instead, we want easy lives, and people in our immediate circle who are easy to deal with” (Allred 2018). It has gotten to the point that evendifferent opportunities are presented to consumers online due to these filter bubbles. This is only one simple example of the perils of filter bubbles. However, even simply comparing the Facebook feed of two individuals, one may see two vastly different results. Each of the feed pages are curated based on likes, views, searches, etc. so depending on what each user prefers, their feeds reflect different perspectives and ideas - even on the same topics. This creates a very narrow view of the world for each person.
There is so much information created each day, it is important for consumers to understand how the information they see can potentially affect their behavior and decisions. Filter bubbles can be avoided, and their impact lessened, if algorithms were encoded with a sense of civic responsibility. Consumers should have options on how to control the flow of information and content that they see online. There are several social and consumer implications because of filter bubbles. If not addressed, they will go on being ignored and consumers will not be informed and will continue to make biased decisions. Consumers need to seek opposing views from information online. Using incognito mode so that history is not saved and turning cookies off are small ways that allow browsers to use less data and produce more meaningful information in these filter bubbles. These small steps will help consumers minimize the polarization that occurs within filter bubbles. However, companies still have an ethical responsibility to not take advantage of subconscious human bias. By consumers becoming educated, a better democracy and more informed society can be restored.
