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 found this very interesting. Living in the "Filter Bubble", while it certainly can provide some immediate benefits, can limit a viewer's creativity and exposure to new ideas and topics. When information is right in front of you to "choose", are you actually making any choices? With this comes the undeniable fear that the information we see is being controlled, preventing us from exposure to knew ideas and concepts.
ReplyDeleteThe video was thought provoking. I have often noticed that after googling one topic, I instantly get advertisements for that product or something similar. It feels invasive and eye opening that our every move is being watched via the world wide web. In the realm of education, I feel this is very limiting. For instance, if I give a student a research assignment on a health issue, their google responses will be limited to what they have previously read about. I feel this will limit a student to a world of information available all due to what google “thinks” they should be privy to. What are students missing out on by what is being filtered out of their bubble. Should it be up to Google or Facebook, etc. to decide what people see or not see merely by what they have clicked on in the past? So, from the information provided in the video, a student will get vastly different results when researching a subject from their own computer than that of a public computer at a library. That being said, the results from the computer at the public library will give the student research results derived from all the users prior to him that have created an entirely different filter bubble than that of the filter bubble they have created for themselves on their own computer.
ReplyDeleteFilter bubbles are scary and make me feel uncomfortable. There must be an algorithm to compose search results, but in a world where google hits are usually in the millions, how should they be ordered? It's a complex problem, and the sorting of hits must be made based on some kind of criteria.
ReplyDeleteThe video was posted in 2011, so I don't know the current status of filter bubbles; however, I suspect they are still a problem.
As for the effect on education, I think it could be profound. Not directly; rather, indirectly through filter bubbles' influence on students. Students are tech consumers just like teachers and parents. Imagine the filter bubble of a 10-year-old girl or a 15-year-old boy. As educators, it's our jobs to help our students stay engaged and be informed tech consumers. With our teaching, we must bust through the filter bubbles they exist within, and expose students to important, challenging ideas. Our students are our nation's future, and as educators, we must not create our own filter bubbles in the classroom. It's a daunting, but worthy task.
I found this video to be very interesting. I knew that Facebook filtered what they wanted us to see depending on what we click on, but I was not aware that most of the internet was this way. This is a little frightening to me. As much as I love technology and the many uses it has, I am not sure that having a computer algorithm choose what I see when I search is such a good thing. In the education world, I think it can hinder how we let our students use the internet, because if we are working on a research project and the class is getting different results, then that could make the project a little harder. Also, I think it is our job as educators to teach students about this and show them how they could possibly be getting filtered on some of the story instead of the whole story.
ReplyDeleteAlgorithms are personal and unique, but we do not get to choose what bubble we fit into. Iron Man and Superman struggle between our aspirations and impulses. The balance of the online filters and how they line up depend upon our behaviors. The gatekeepers online are the advertisers who control the flow of information and click bait. I like the sort preference feature for online and social media, however, after listening to the video; I am not sure that my preferences matter.
ReplyDeleteThe rules are one-sided and are a web of one. I have been seeing posts on my Facebook timeline that many of my friends were not seeing posts from people that were on their friend's list. I began paying attention to my own timeline and what I realized was that, the people that I frequently interacted with or who liked my posts, showed up on my timeline.
Facebook decided via the Algorithms that I didn't need to see my friends posts and vice versa. This video was informative and it kept my interest from beginning until the end.
Filter bubbles affect education by limiting information to certain groups. For example, the video demonstrated how two people searched the web for the exact same topic and both received different results. Educators can educate students on this topic, distribute information via collaboration and teach strategies to overcome restricted information.
DeleteI think that the “filter bubbles” could affect education by limiting what people have access to. If all you see are things that you agree with, how is that helping people grow intellectually? People have to be able to get of their comfort zone and experience things, even if it makes them uncomfortable. There’s nothing wrong with different opinions or different interests. If all you see online is the same old stuff, it’s going to get boring. If all you see online is what’s going on in your own front yard, how can you be expected to know that’s going on with the rest of the world?
ReplyDeleteI think that as educators, we need to push students to expand their thinking. To not allow them to go through life with blinders on, and only see the narrow point of view of whatever the current popular version of social media puts in their line of sight.
I found this video thought provoking and honestly a bit scary. I don't like the idea that there is some algorithm out there that is picking and choosing what it thinks that I need to see. What if I want to see something that is, like the man said, challenging or puts me out of my comfort zone?
ReplyDeleteBeyond that, the idea that my students may or may not see things that they need to see for a research project is not an idea that I like. Personally, I feel as though most of my students wouldn't Google things of much academic value. So when faced with the idea of doing a research paper, does it give them so much fluff, or do they get actual important content?
I'm not completely sure how I feel about the filter bubbles, because I can see the benefits when I search for something, but the idea that I would be restricted from other information is disturbing. I think one of the things we need to do as teachers is to show our students how to search for the right information. Whether it be using google scholar or searching for the right terms, I think it's just another hurdle to overcome as we live with technology.
ReplyDeleteFilter bubbles are an invisible algorithm that filters what information that a consumer will see based on previous searches. This can be dangerous and can effect many aspects of society. So much of our information comes from google searches or other sources that use such algorithms. This ted talk is very interesting, and opened my eyes to an issue I would have never otherwise been informed of. Although I see the benefits of programs giving personalized results, I agree that we should be able to alter the filters if needed. There should be a setting that allows you to adjust the filter to our needs, which could also ensure we got the amount of diversity we wish to have.
ReplyDeleteI think Filter Bubbles in facebook are common knowledge. Even if the algorithm wasn't feeding you information of a particular side, people themselves tend to gravitate towards those more like them. How many of us have unfriended someone because we get tired of seeing a 4 page political rant every few hours? Humans have a confirmation bias, the machine learning and algorithm aren't doing anything new, they just learned that we like seeing things that we agree with and not looking at things we don't. But what if a young student is using the Internet? A ten or twelve year-old? How will his opinions ever change, how will he ever think for himself and evolve his views if he's fed the same tailored information? The best we can do is try to find the most solid, unbiased reporting that won't sensationalize every event for ad revenue, and recommend these to the students. Helping students recognize bias in reporting when they see it helps them form their own beliefs and opinions in the long run. This is one the most crucial, real world skills we can teach them to help them navigate the adult world successfully.
ReplyDelete