Parallel Worlds

Online networks have been built on the sociological principle of ‘homophily’: the rule that ‘birds of a feather flock together,’ leading to the increased segregation of internet sociality, commonly known as social bubbles.[1] Homophily enables echo-chambers, producing parallel worlds that prevent the construction of a shared reality and common truth claims. Parallel worlds are also linked to new strategies of propaganda, which are less about persuading people to think a certain way, but more about disrupting opposing sides and undermining points of shared reference.[2]

[1] Wendy Hui Kyong Chun, Updating to Remain the Same: Habitual New Media, (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2016).
[2] See Peter Pomerantsev interviewed in Metahaven’s film The Sprawl (2016).