eli pariser’s ‘the filter bubble’ is not the most recent read. in fact, it was first published in 2011.
now, ten years is a long time. at some point for instance, the book casually mentions a VCR player. non-ironically. i know…
but in internet-time, 10 years is an eternity. a lot has happened: from GDPR laws in the EU over cambridge analytica to US elections scandals and back, the last decade packed a punch in terms of data privacy.
as current as ever
which is why i was so surprised how current, how relevant ‘the filter bubble’ still is. a lot of the issues pariser predicted did not only occur, but they persist unresolved to this day.
who collects what data about me and to what end? who can see it? how is it used? how can i make sure it isn’t used against me?
what impact does the comfort in terms of personalisation the filter bubble affords me have on my life and would i agree to this price i pay if i knew what it was?
most of us still haven’t been able to find comprehensive and satisfying answers to this questions.
more than digital
and even more surprising to me, in discussing the dangers of the filter bubble, pariser touches on many aspects of the human condition : creativity and innovation, identity, community, ethics and more.
well maybe, this shouldn’t be surprising.
as the internet, and technology in general, become ever more important in our lives, why wouldn’t they touch on what makes us human?
and why wouldn’t we touch on the responsibility that comes with that?
