Read Across The Aisle
by BeeLine ReaderKnocking down filter bubbles with a simple nudge
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the Wall Street Journal
the Wall Street Journal
Knocking down filter bubbles with a simple nudge
We’ve been living in filter bubbles. Most of the news and stories we see on social media are shared by our friends, who are—not surprisingly—very similar to us. We come away with the impression that our views are the predominant and correct ones, and we aren’t exposed to much of the news and stories that other people are seeing. Social media makes it easy to live in these bubbles, and they’ve gotten stronger and more polarized over the last year.
We could dig in our heels, dismiss our detractors as “elites” or “deplorables,” and hope that things get better. But even if this plan works, we won’t have learned anything. We still won’t know the true causes of the rifts that exist, and we won’t know what motivates the people with whom we disagree.
A better first step is to take a deep breath and try peeking outside your bubble—and we’re building an app that helps you to do precisely this. Just as your Fitbit reminds you to get up and walk around after an hour of inactivity, this app will notice when you’ve gotten a little too comfortable in your filter bubble—and it’ll remind you to go see what other folks are reading.
You might want to escape your bubble out of curiosity, or out of partisanship (keep your friends close, and your enemies closer). Whatever your motivation, we’re here to help!
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