The thing about the "echo chamber" or "filter bubble" argument is that it is always about other people. The actual title of this article says it all, "To Rescu

The thing about the "echo chamber" or "filter bubble" argument is that it is always about other people. The actual title of this article says it all, "To Rescue Democracy, Go Outside" -- this is paternalistic drivel, written only for the writer to be able to elevate themselves above the unwashed masses. I'm not in an echo chamber. I live far away from my home country, speak three languages, and meet 20 different nationalities daily. The author on the other hand, being deeply embedded within one of America's most prestigious educational institutions, is having his every thought filtered by his immediate social environment. I'm certain he doesn't "mix" with the rabble: >So what would happen if the way we interacted with each other forced us to mix with people of different groups? If we didn’t allow ourselves to dive ever deeper into self-reinforcing groups? What would happen if we mixed primarily through that quaint and old-fashioned technique, namely moving about in our physical environment, encountering opinions and perspectives that we did not pre-select? Could we counter the devil’s brew of single-community media combined with physical segregation? My research at MIT strongly suggests that the answer is yes. In businesses, on the street, and in peer groups, ideas are shaped more by face-to-face interaction than by digital media.13, 14