filter bubble

American  

[fil-ter buhb-uhl] / ˈfɪl tər ˌbʌb əl /

noun

1. a phenomenon that limits an individual’s exposure to a full spectrum of news and other information on the internet by algorithmically prioritizing content that matches a user’s demographic profile and online history or excluding content that does not.

   My roommate streamed so many arthouse flicks on my account that she confused the filter bubble—the recommended movies page thinks I’m some kind of fancy-pants intellectual now.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to cause (a person) to have such a limited online experience through the predictive algorithmic filtering of content.

   We are being filter-bubbled into homogeneous peer groups by social media platforms.

Etymology

Origin of filter bubble

Coined by Eli Pariser (born 1980), U.S. political and internet activist, in The Filter Bubble (2011)

Example Sentences

Similarly, Eli Pariser, the author of The Filter Bubble, is pushing for the digital equivalent of public parks.

From Slate

One measure would require Facebook, Twitter and other big platforms to notify users when they are using an algorithm to filter what they see on their own pages, which is often called a “filter bubble.”

From Washington Times

Ultimately, Facebook’s shift to be more like TikTok is an indictment of what the News Feed has become, according to Eli Pariser, the author of a 2012 book called The Filter Bubble who is now working on an initiative to build nonprofit social media.

From The Verge

In the 2010s, when Google’s motto “Don’t be evil” felt unironic and TED talks lauding the Internet as the great social equalizer still drew credulous audiences, books such as Eli Pariser’s “The Filter Bubble” and Shoshana Zuboff’s “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism” were defining terms that would massively shift public opinion.

From Washington Post

The 2019 Filter Bubble Transparency Act took a swing at algorithmic content distribution, theoretically mandating that users be allowed to opt out of news feed and search personalization.

From The Verge