Echo Chambers

An echo chamber can be described as an environment in which a person encounters opinions or beliefs that coincide with their own, so their existing views are reinforced and alternative ideas aren’t considered.

Some positive implications of echo chambers are that they can maximize information available to individuals in the echo chamber, as well as providing an easy way to exchange information due to a smaller audience. Also, individuals with the same thoughts and opinions tend to flock together, creating a sense of alliance with others. 

Negative implications of echo chambers can also be found such as people's preference to listen to information that backs up their own opinion and are not going to take opposing sides or views into consideration after being reinforced by others in the echo chamber. 

Echo chambers can also create distrust between news outlets and consumers, as is the case with the spread of fake news through social media and occasionally larger media platforms. Also, these echo chamber may find each other on social media and engage in "online comment wars" where harsh things are directed towards the opposing side.

Echo chambers also have an effect on our society, and since we are a feeling-based society today if we don’t like facts we refuse to believe it's true, and if false information is presented that we like, we tend to believe it. This is mentioned in the Forbes article. Echo chambers also create these segregated groups that individuals can be drawn to, further reinforcing the opinions of that echo chamber. 

Different groups can also be impacted by echo chambers, much like political parties especially during campaigns. Republicans and democrats love to bash each in the media, actively spreading negative or even false information about the opposing candidate. Once this information gets bounced around in the chamber, it leaves a mark on each individual it hits imprinting a biased opinion. 

Minority groups can also be affected, such as certain ethnicities coming together to voice their views to each other. Echo chambers allow these people to find others like them with the same opinions, and since everyone likes being told they're right individuals gather at these chambers.

Echo chambers can be both positive and negative in relation to society. The active participation of individuals in the media combined with the variety and information present in the media can help us to avoid the negative aspects of echo chambers. This can be further explained in this article. By having and voicing our own opinions, while also keeping in mind that other people also have opinions and views and that they may differ from our own, can help to keep our generation online and in person a safe space to express our views to each other.