Society and the chambers of echo
By Bryan Laprise
Local Journalism Initiative
According to data published by the International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, there are 5.5 billion internet users in the world, which corresponds to some 68 per cent of the global population, as of 2024. According to Statistica, this year, there are an estimated 5.42 billion social media users.
These platforms are powered by algorithms that classify posts based on type, content, and style, often using artificial intelligence. Users are then presented with posts and videos based on what they have previously interacted with, which the algorithm believes the user would enjoy.
What are echo chambers?
This leads to a phenomenon known as “echo chambers.” Sylvana Al Baba Douaihy, a researcher at the Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire en cybersécurité (CRICUS) at the University of Sherbrooke defines them as “a system or environment in which people will be exposed principally to information and opinions that confirm their beliefs or pre-existing points of view.”
There are a few signs that can be noticed to become aware of the presence of an echo chamber in one’s social media feeds. The specialist pointed out that if a person does a lot of research on a certain topic on a regular basis and the topic of interest starts appearing in the content they see on social media, this is one of the signs. She characterized it as being content oriented around expressed interests.
“When we always see the main information and the discourse doesn’t differ, that’s when you can notice you’re targeted by algorithms and in an echo chamber,” shared the university professor. “We are in a homogenous informational space.”
Anyone can be exposed to this phenomenon as it stems from web searches, though people that repeatedly look for the same information online may be more prone to being trapped in a such chamber.
Consequences of echo chambers
The specialist outlined many of the consequences of the phenomenon, political, societal and individual. One is the separation and polarization of society. “There will be a marked separation between the groups within the same society,” she explained. “They will nourish political, linguistic, ideological and religious divergence.” This may even lead to the radicalization and dehumanization of groups.
Another important impact is the spread of disinformation. This is the voluntary spread of false, biased or manipulated information with the goal of influencing people’s perspectives. “It is manipulation of public opinion,” Douaihy summarized.
In recent years, this has led to the propagation of misogyny and hate against certain groups and politics, according to Douaihy. “We see this loss of critical thinking that leads to a negative impact on society and democracy,” she shared, adding that a loss of diverging opinions and ideas that can be shared freely stretches the limits of democracy. When a person is trapped in an environment without being confronted with perspectives other than theirs, they lose they capacity to think rationally and autonomously while questioning and validating the reliability of sources and data. “We are no longer able to doubt ourselves or recognize the opinions of others or our capacity to deeply analyze,” Douaihy said.
The escape
The good news is that there are certain escape plans that users and society can perform to reduce their vulnerability to and the presence of echo chambers. The main ones are prevention and awareness.
“We need to reinforce debate in society to be able to discuss all subjects in an autonomous and free way.free way to be able to express oneself and guarantee freedom of expression,” Douaihy stated.
It’s also important to develop critical thinking by reading and exposure to pluralism. Citizen participation to encourage debate and openness to other ideas could also be a method. The professor added that “digital hygiene,” understanding how the platforms and their algorithms work as being oblivious to their functioning leads to fully being trapped.
People must, when being exposed to information, look to verify it through reliable sources. “Not through content that is structured or developed by artificial intelligence,” she shared.
Some social media platforms, like Instagram, have a settings option to reset suggested content, which may break the cycle of the echo chamber.
Online hate and anonymity
Online anonymity, the state of hiding a person’s real-life personality, can also lead to the spread of online hate. On a technical scale, anonymity can be achieved by using a VPN to mask the user’s IP address and deactivating “cookies” that collect and share information for advertising purposes, said Marc Frappier, the scientific director of the Pôle d’expertises en cybersécurité at the University of Sherbrooke.
“A VPN is an intermediate server through which you pass to access internet,” he explained. “So, the websites that you visit see the IP address of the intermediate server rather than your personal IP address.”
However, some VPN services that are offered as “free” may use a user’s device as a proxy—the device used becomes a VPN itself for other users. Access to the IP address can then be sold online, allowing criminals to have Canadian IP addresses for fraud, etc.
“The opacity of the cyberspace can drive internet users to adopt behaviours that can be anti-social,” said Douaihy. “Sometimes, internet users can destabilize a certain balance in the community—those are trolls. They can pass themselves off as someone else in the goal of manipulating and sharing offending or even violent rhetoric on social media.”
This can lead to online hate and cyber-intimidation—using online communication as a way to harass, threaten or bully someone, which can lead to serious mental health consequences for the individuals affected.
Keeping personal data secure
Frappier outlined some of the best ways to stay safe and keep personal data secure while using the internet. One of the main things to do is to always ensure the legitimacy of websites and apps that are consulted or downloaded.
There are many phishing (fraudulent) emails sent claiming to be a service that a person may use such as a bank, which can utilize website names that resemble the official ones. A good practice is to bookmark important sites using the correct links, that way there is no need to pass through a potentially fraudulent link received by email.
An anti-virus should also be used. “It protects you from the installation of certain malicious programs, including when you receive attachments by emails,” said Frappier. He also reiterated the importance of doing security updates on the device.
It’s important to have passwords that are hard to guess. “We need to have a different password for every site, that’s very important. If you have the same one for many sites, if it gets stolen, the attacker will see if it’s the same on many sites,” the professor shared.
Using a password manager can be an interesting solution, as they store and can generate long and intricate passwords for every website consulted. While it isn’t impossible for hackers to access the manager, the risk is very low, he explained. “When you look at the risk management, it’s better to have different solid passwords for every site than not using the manager and get passwords stolen.”