For several years there has been a debate: is the information bubble a technological phenomenon – the result of algorithms?
Or a psychological one – depending on what information we consciously and unconsciously let in?
This debate was already heard a few years ago, but today it is returning with new force – in the context of artificial intelligence, which builds our digital bubbles even faster and more effectively.
But the information bubble is not only the work of technology. Above all, it is the result of how our mind works.
The psychology of the bubble
Our brains are not neutral. They naturally gravitate towards information that confirms what we already believe. We are more willing to click on what we already know. We avoid content that provokes resistance.
You can try a simple experiment: treat the search engine you use every day as a mirror of your own views. See what it shows you – and what it never suggests.
A study that says a lot
In 2024, Nature published a study of 1,200 people with different attitudes to vaccines: supporters, neutrals and opponents.
Participants looked through information about COVID-19 vaccines – both about their effectiveness and their side effects.
The results?
Vaccine opponents ignored even the data they had read.
Supporters and neutrals distorted their processing of information about side effects.
People saw only what they wanted to see. You can read the full study here: Nature.com, 2024
Technology works fast. The psyche works deep.
A digital information bubble can form in a flash. But the psychological one sets slowly and works insidiously. We only feel its effects over time.
What happens then?
We start to believe that everyone thinks like we do.
We lose the ability to talk with people “on the other side”.
Empathy and curiosity decline.
New information causes strong discomfort – often outright emotional rejection.
Instead of developing, we dig in.
We close our worldview like a fortress. We let in only those who think similarly.
Experience from the training room
As trainers, consultants and coaches, we see this mechanism every day.
For years we have been immersed in the world of personal development, in scientific sources, data and research. We surround ourselves with people who think similarly. But…
When we walk into a training room, on the other side sit people with a completely different reality – accountants, IT specialists, engineers, production managers.
We see how shocking some information that is obvious to us can be for them.
Our role? Not to persuade. To open up.
Our profession – and our mission – is to create space for understanding. It is not about burying people in data that shatters their world.
It is about building bridges with respect and attentiveness:
to experience,
to a different perspective,
to curiosity instead of persuasion.
It is a difficult art. And we keep learning it throughout our professional lives.
Bursting the bubble – the first step
For many people getting out of the information bubble is a huge challenge. But the first step is awarenessthat the bubble exists.
How to burst it is a topic for a separate article. Stay tuned – to be continued.