filter bubble

noun

: an environment and especially an online environment in which people are exposed only to opinions and information that conform to their existing beliefs
As Facebook users around the world are coming to understand, some of their favorite technologies can be used against them. … People's filter bubbles are filled with carefully tailored information—and misinformation—altering their behavior and thinking, and even their votes.Elissa Redmiles

Examples of filter bubble in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Today, Fortune has published an excerpt from the book about how AI could make filter bubbles worse, but also how—with the right design choices—the same technology could help pop these bubbles and combat polarization. Will Daniel, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2014 In explaining this disjuncture, hyper-partisanship and filter bubbles surely play some role. John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 9 Apr. 2024 But retailers must be cautious of filter bubbles and manipulation instead of true personalization. Elijah Clark, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023 The results suggest that filter bubbles are at least somewhat real, but countering them algorithmically doesn’t seem to bring us any closer together. WIRED, 3 Aug. 2023 In a world of filter bubbles and willful propagating of misinformation, this shift can be viewed as an encouraging development. John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023 Skeptics might argue that the middleware approach would fragment the Internet and reinforce filter bubbles. Francis Fukuyama, Foreign Affairs, 24 Nov. 2020 Steven Cherry So has the problem of filter bubbles gotten worse since that term was coined a decade ago? IEEE Spectrum, 20 Oct. 2020 Steven Cherry: So has the problem of filter bubbles gotten worse since that term was coined a decade ago? IEEE Spectrum, 20 Oct. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'filter bubble.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

2010, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of filter bubble was in 2010

Dictionary Entries Near filter bubble

Cite this Entry

“Filter bubble.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/filter%20bubble. Accessed 14 Oct. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!