When we talk of the polarization of society in recent years, a common target for our ire is the various new media platforms that have emerged in the last decade.  The argument is that the algorithms used by these platforms to direct us to content insulates us from opinions that we may disagree with, and therefore helps to deepen the divides across society.

Research from the University of Gothenburg suggests that no such evidence to this effect is visible, in Sweden at least.  The researcher began his research with the belief, as shared elsewhere, that we are living in a polarized world driven by the filter bubbles social media provide us with.  It’s a conclusion his research forced him to reconsider.

Limited evidence

Rather than narrowing the amount of information we receive, the paper argues that the new media landscape has actually greatly broadened the information we get from different sources.  Indeed, the study found that even those who use quite niche websites were still also getting news from traditional sources too.  There is also limited evidence that the breath of choices available to us is driving polarization.

“What is actually noticeable is that those who are politically interested and inquisitive obtain their news from both left and right-wing media, and do not necessarily avoid information that is inconsistent with their own attitudes and beliefs,” the author explains. “Neither is there much to suggest that their political convictions are influenced by the media content.”

Instead, the polarization that is visible across society is likely to be due to other factors as opposed to the ability of new media to limit our sources of information.

“It could, for example, depend on how we interpret the content, rather than how we actually receive the information to begin with. But confirming this would require more research,” they continue.