Algorithms & filter bubbles
Understanding how algorithms work, and how they impact our daily lives is essential in an increasingly digital world.
An algorithm is a set of steps that a computer performs in order to solve a problem or complete a task. Search engines such as Google, and social media platforms like Facebook, use algorithms to collect the content that users see. They filter content so that users see the types of material with which they have engaged before. This can be a good thing!
However, the algorithms can also block anything new or surprising. It can create a so-called ‘filter bubble’ where we only see what we already know and believe in, leading to a one-sided view of the world, especially if the bubble is filled with mis- and disinformation. Worst-case, filter bubbles can promote prejudices and negative stereotypes, and play into our deepest fears.
Media and Information Literacy Education gives knowledge about how algorithms work, and tips and tricks for how to burst the filter bubbles online.
Featured video
Algorithms – life in a bubble
Spending time on social media can make you feel like everyone thinks and does the same things as you. A social media entrepreneur and a journalist discuss the pros and cons of algorithms and filter
Ihsene Ben Mansour
Ihsene Ben Mansour is in charge of communication and web marketing at DSI Medianet, Tunisia. In this clip, she talks about the role and function of search engines such as Google. In the next clip, she talks about how algorithms control what we see in our search results and social media feeds.
Satire: Saif
Satire: Saif tries to help his mother find her way around the internet.