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You're Not in a Bubble, That's Whay You're So Mad

Posted by Matt Birchler
β€” 1 min read

Greg Morris: Can We Try to Remember How to Disagree Please?

There is also a real issue of the bubbles we all live in now. Social media algorithms creates a space where we see posts and updates that we agree with. YouTube and Netflix force content on us that we will like, and issues arise when we bump up against the edges.

If I can disagree with Greg here (his article wants me to!), I actually think services like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube do an incredible job of hsowing us content that we don't agree with, and this whole filter bubble narrative is wrong.

The culture of Twitter especially is precisely about dunking on people who you think are wrong. Yes, you're likely dunking to an audience who will agree with you, but the idea are still crossing party/fandom/etc. lunes. See also YouTube recommending me conservtive videos and pro-crypto stuff alongside the videos more likely to agree with my current opinions, and I simply don't see this filter bubble actually being a thing.

If anything, we are seeing so much from the other side of every argument that it's driving us insane.

I'd actually argue that it's more bubble-y to watch one cable news network or to subscribe to one physical newspaper than it is to use social media sites.

But of course it wouldn't be a Greg post without something I agree with as well:

We, the people, need to learn how to disagree with someone but still appreciate them as a person.

This, this, and even more this. I have good relationships with many people in my personal life who I disagree with on big things (politics, religion, Formula 1 teams), but those are much more rare in my online-only relationships. I don't have a fix, but it's a challenge we as a people need to get better at as the digital world becomes ever more a very meaningful part of the "real world".