Disentangling polarisation and civic empowerment in the digital age: the role of filter bubbles and echo chambers in the rise of populism
Concerns around filter bubbles, echo chambers and misinformation have informed a growing number of claims about the political risks tied to social media and search engines along with the algorithms that drive them. One particular theme has been the role of digital technologies in shaping a rise in p...
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| Format: | Book section |
| Sprache: | English |
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Routledge
2021
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| Zusammenfassung: | Concerns around filter bubbles, echo chambers and misinformation have informed a growing number of claims about the political risks tied to social media and search engines along with the algorithms that drive them. One particular theme has been the role of digital technologies in shaping a rise in populism. This chapter briefly reviews theoretical perspectives on how search engines and social media could create echo chambers and filter bubbles, but argues that they adhere to a problematic, technologically deterministic perspective. We then turn to an analysis of internet users in seven nations where we find evidence that their online practices are unlikely to be responsible for a rise in populism. In addition, the findings raise questions about the very meaning of populism in a digital era of perceived citizen empowerment. Are we seeing citizens gaining a greater sense of empowerment through access to resources via the Internet? Populist attitudes perceived as unrealistic and anti-elitist in earlier decades might be more realistic and mainstream in the digital age. While we cannot definitively rule out populism as being driven by digital media, the chapter shows why it is more likely that echo chambers are tied to empowerment and the rise of polarization in politics, rather than populism. These findings underscore the importance of examining the actual uses of search engines and social media more rigorously to critically challenge technologically deterministic perspectives. |
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