Logic reveals how filter bubbles form and persist online
Logics of Filter Bubbles
Logic in Computer ScienceSocial and Information Networks
Summary
Filter bubbles are groups where people see mostly similar information and are separated from different views, often caused by personalized online feeds. The paper explains how to use special logical rules to describe and study these bubbles. The authors created a system to understand both how these bubbles stay the same and how they develop over time. They also made sure their approach is correct and can be fully worked out using logical methods.
What this means in practice
- •For social media engineers: Design algorithms that formally track and explain the creation and durability of filter bubbles in user feeds.
- •For network security analysts: Analyze communication structures to identify isolated clusters resembling filter bubbles in network traffic patterns.
A theory result. No direct application yet.
Authors
Lei Li, Jialiang Yan
Abstract
Filter bubbles can be understood as configurations characterized by within-group proximity and separation from outsiders. Personalized feeds may form or preserve such configurations. We develop hybrid-style logics for reasoning about filter bubbles. The static logic characterizes bubble-shaped configurations, while its dynamic extension captures their formation and persistence under personalized feeds. We provide sound and strongly complete axiomatizations for the static and dynamic logics and prove their decidability.