Book Review: The Filter Bubble by Eli Pariser

So, in the category of "disturbing trends you should be aware of," and no I'm not going to talk again about how President Obama has been a disaster for civil rights (but he has been), I recently was introduced to the idea of selection bias. Basically, if all you read or watch are things that confirm the beliefs you already have, then you are never presented with a different viewpoint and therefore assume you're right. If you only read Roman Catholic theology, you're not introduced to the wealth of different viewpoints from the rest of the Christian world. If you only watch Fox News, you think that Obama is (literally) the anti-Christ. Or at least the worst thing to happen to the country since the Great Depression. Maybe the Civil War. I'm not sure. It's why if all you listen to is Mormon Stories podcasts you get the idea that everybody is completely disaffected with the LDS church and nobody actually believes the doctrine.

But what's disturbing is that the internet is creating selection bias for us all. Eli Pariser points this out in his book The Filter Bubble: What The Internet Is Hiding From You. We read it for book club a month ago and it was a chilling read. Basically, google, facebook, and other companies keep track of what you do online. They can use the data of what you do to target you with ads you're more likely to click on. This is why, for example, once I got engaged all of the facebook ads were about flowers, rings, and tuxedos. It's why when I got married suddenly divorce lawyers ads started to show up on facebook. (I rarely click on ads, or even turn them off or make them go away, but in this case I did. Reason: Offensive.)

Even if you're not logged into your gmail account google knows things about you. And it will try to give you a top selection of hits it thinks that you will click on. Because you've clicked on similar things before.

In other words, the internet is creating selection bias for us. And this is dangerous. Very very dangerous.

The book is a damning expose of how the internet is secretly undermining all the things it seemed it would do in its early stages. It was supposed to give us more options and more information quickly. Spread viewpoints faster. Connect the world in new and amazing ways. Instead it is slowly moving towards putting us all in our own little filtered bubble of things we already agree with. When we are never aware of the different options or are never exposed to viewpoints different then our own, then that is a bad situation. Democracy, in particular, requires a well-informed set of voters to really work. And the internet is not helping as much as it should, and may even be hindering the ability of people to be well-informed.

Here's Pariser's TED talk on the subject:


Very interesting stuff there. Creepy, even.

What can you do about it? He has a few things you can do at his website. "10 things you can do." I would also recommend simply reading newspapers. Even the online versions have headlines and "top stories" that are selected by the editors, formerly the gatekeepers of what information was "important."

I would highly recommend this book to anybody. It's a disturbing read, yet contains information that everybody should be aware of in the internet age.

Besides, if we don't let the internet be free, how will Peter be able to unify us all after his brother Ender wipes out the buggers?
How will google employees be able to play pranks on their siblings?
These are important questions!

Okay, maybe they're not, but the book raises some important ones. You should read it. Or at least watch the TED talk above.