The Echo Chamber Effect as a Manifestation of the Principle of Self-Similarity on Social Networks

For citation: Zamkov A.V. (2019) Effekt ekho-kamery kak proyavlenie printsipa samopodobiya v sotsial'nykh setyakh [The Echo Chamber Effect as a Manifestation of the Principle of Self-Similarity on Social Networks]. Mediaskop 2. (in Russian). Available at: http://www.mediascope.ru/2548

DOI: 10.30547/mediascope.2.2019.7

© Andrey V. Zamkov
Researcher at the Problem Research Laboratory for Integrated Studies of Current Issues of Journalism, Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia), zamkov.andrey@mail.ru

Abstract

The present article attempts to analyze from a system-theoretical standpoint the internal mechanism of self-organization of communicative relations on social networks called the Echo Chamber effect. In the context of online communication, this effect has acquired a stable structural form, has become global and close to the problems of social media and public discourse. This was the motivation for choosing the method of structural analysis of interpersonal communication on social networks as the main research tool.

Based on the comparison of relational data obtained at different levels of analysis – theoretical, analytical and empirical, there was made an attempt to identify a common structural factor that causes the appearance of echo chambers in different communication situations. In the author`s opinion, the role of the most common factor can be played by social homophilia or relation of similarity.

Comparison of various theoretical and empirical data reveals the analogy between the action of echo chambers and conceptual 'resonance' in a small group leading to the approaching of social portraits of individuals and groups.

On this basis, it is hypothesized a deep connection of the echo chamber mechanism with the manifestation of the universal principle of self-similarity in open-type social systems, which underlies the mechanism of formation of fractals – structures with fractional dimension. The use of fractal metrics as a tool for structural description of echo chamber models is proposed.

Keywords: social networks, echo chambers, self-similarity, fractals, dimension.

Notes

Entropy and Chaos, 2010. Available at:  https://entropychaos.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/media-hunt-6-the-fractal-internet/

Netcraft February 2018 Web Server Survey. Available at:  https://news.netcraft.com/archives/2018/02/13/february-2018-web-server-survey.html

Robson D. (2018) The Myth of the Online Echo Chamber. BBC, April 18. Available at:  http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180416-the-myth-of-the-online-echo-chamber

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