Media Literacy

Filter Bubble: Occurs when someone is only exposed to news that confirms his or her beliefs, or solely interacts with like-minded peers. The result? A society where people only see one side, leading to a highly polarized political environment. 

This is what filter bubbles actually look like

Confirmation Bias: The tendency to prioritize information that confirms or aligns with one's previous viewpoint and discount the opinions that do not. 

-definitions and quote by AllSides and  ALA's Media Literary in the Library guide. 

The problems with filters bubbles and bias:

"When we only talk to people who agree, we are much less likely to entertain an opposing viewpoint. Shutting out alternative viewpoints ultimately inhibits nuanced thinking."

-All Sides: Filter Bubbles

How to pop your filter bubble:

• Read or watch news from different local, regional, national and international sources to gain a broad understanding of what is being discussed in the world today. Seek to understand. 
• Balanced News from the Left, Center, and Right link to current headlines that show media viewpoints from partisan and non-biased sources.
• Red Blue Translator links to an online dictionary of terms. Reveals "how people across the political spectrum think and feel differently about the same term or phrase."

Part of the problem: 

"In 1983, 90 percent of all U.S.-based media was created and controlled by 50 companies. Mergers brought this number down to 25 in 1992, and further mergers have brought this down to just five today. Those five companies are AT&T, Comcast, Disney, Viacom, and Fox, who collectively own 90 percent of the professional media content currently being produced in the United States." (ALA Guide for Media Literacy)