Online Homogeneity Can Emerge Without Filtering Algorithms or Homophily Preferences
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866911105533607936 |
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| author | Törnberg, Petter |
| author_facet | Törnberg, Petter |
| contents | Ideologically homogeneous online environments - often described as "echo chambers" or "filter bubbles" - are widely seen as drivers of polarization, radicalization, and misinformation. A central debate asks whether such homophily stems primarily from algorithmic curation or users' preference for like-minded peers. This study challenges that view by showing that homogeneity can emerge in the absence of both filtering algorithms and user preferences. Using an agent-based model inspired by Schelling's model of residential segregation, we demonstrate that weak individual preferences, combined with simple group-based interaction structures, can trigger feedback loops that drive communities toward segregation. Once a small imbalance forms, cascades of user exits and regrouping amplify homogeneity across the system. Counterintuitively, algorithmic filtering - often blamed for "filter bubbles" - can in fact sustain diversity by stabilizing mixed communities. These findings highlight online polarization as an emergent system-level dynamic and underscore the importance of applying a complexity lens to the study of digital public spheres. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_10466 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Online Homogeneity Can Emerge Without Filtering Algorithms or Homophily Preferences Törnberg, Petter Social and Information Networks Computers and Society Ideologically homogeneous online environments - often described as "echo chambers" or "filter bubbles" - are widely seen as drivers of polarization, radicalization, and misinformation. A central debate asks whether such homophily stems primarily from algorithmic curation or users' preference for like-minded peers. This study challenges that view by showing that homogeneity can emerge in the absence of both filtering algorithms and user preferences. Using an agent-based model inspired by Schelling's model of residential segregation, we demonstrate that weak individual preferences, combined with simple group-based interaction structures, can trigger feedback loops that drive communities toward segregation. Once a small imbalance forms, cascades of user exits and regrouping amplify homogeneity across the system. Counterintuitively, algorithmic filtering - often blamed for "filter bubbles" - can in fact sustain diversity by stabilizing mixed communities. These findings highlight online polarization as an emergent system-level dynamic and underscore the importance of applying a complexity lens to the study of digital public spheres. |
| title | Online Homogeneity Can Emerge Without Filtering Algorithms or Homophily Preferences |
| topic | Social and Information Networks Computers and Society |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.10466 |