Unraveling Information-Limiting Environments: An Empirical Review of Individual, Social, and Technological Filters in Social Media

Abstract

Social media platforms offer a convenient way for people to interact and exchange information. However, there are sustained concerns that filter bubbles and echo chambers create information-limiting environments (ILEs) for their users. Despite a well-developed conceptual understanding, the empirical evidence regarding the causes and supporting conditions of these ILEs remains inconclusive. This paper addresses this gap by applying the triple-filter-bubble model developed by Geschke et al. (2019) to analyze empirical literature on the individual, social, and technological causes of ILEs. While we identify some factors that increase the probability of ILEs under certain conditions, our findings do not suffice to thoroughly validate conceptual models that explain why ILEs emerge. Therefore, we call for future research to investigate the causes of ILEs with higher external validity to develop a more comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon