Nearly all of us like to believe we’re right, especially in the presence of friends, acquaintances, and those we regularly engage with. While the intensity of this need to be “in the right” may vary depending on the issue, its presence across every aspect of our lives is almost undeniable. Whether the topic is of great importance or utterly trivial, we tend to believe our opinion is correct.
But the truth is, we are human, and just as often as our judgments may be right, they can also be wrong. Whether or not we are right depends largely on the evidence and reasoning we have access to—or that our counterparts possess, which may challenge our sense of certainty.
This article, however, is not about being right or wrong. It is about the illusion of being right: the belief that we are justified in our views, supported by what appears to be solid reasoning, while we may be trapped in a distorted perception of reality. In particular, we will examine how social media platforms contribute to and perpetuate this illusion.
To better understand this phenomenon, consider a simple analogy. Imagine standing alone in a room where every word you speak aloud is echoed back at you by the walls. You hear only your voice repeated again and again. In the field of communications and journalism, this is known as an “echo chamber.” On social media platforms such as Facebook, an echo chamber refers to the condition in which users predominantly receive and interact with opinions they already agree with. In simpler terms, people hear their own beliefs echoed through the voices of others.
How does this happen? One major factor lies in how we curate our social media circles. Before the rise of these platforms, although we all enjoyed being right, securing agreement or validation from others was far less convenient. Our audiences were limited, and we often avoided expressing views that we suspected would be met with disagreement. Today, thanks to social media, we have virtually unlimited access to audiences. We can share our opinions widely without knowing our readers personally. Out of the thousands who may encounter our views online, it is almost guaranteed that some will validate or agree with us. Moreover, tools like “unfriending” or blocking allow us to remove dissenting voices from our networks altogether. As a result, our social circles become filtered. Two main groups tend to remain: those who agree with us—politically, socially, culturally, or historically—and those who are inactive or remain silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. This filtering effect creates a feedback loop. When we share our opinions, we are most often met with likes and comments from those who affirm our views. And that affirmation reinforces the feeling that we are right, even if we aren’t.
The second driver behind the formation of echo chambers is the way we engage with content on social media. We tend to like and share posts from individuals whose views align with our own. We are more likely to follow writers and commentators who reinforce our perspectives, whether political, social, or cultural. A 2021 study conducted by researchers based in Italy analyzed 100 million posts across Facebook, Twitter (now X), Reddit, and Gab. It found that users of Facebook and Twitter exhibited the highest levels of ideological convergence. In other words, users of these two platforms were most likely to like, comment on, or share content created by those who shared similar views. Given that Facebook has significantly more users in Afghanistan than other social media platforms, the risk of being caught in an echo chamber is correspondingly higher for Afghan users.
The third factor contributing to echo chambers is the behavior of social media algorithms themselves. I will explore the function and impact of these algorithms in a separate article.
If you want to assess whether you have fallen into the illusion of always being right, try answering the following two questions:
1) Does your friend list include people who disagree with you as much as those who think like you? If yes, that’s excellent. If not, you should consider adding intellectual opponents to your list. Otherwise, you’re at risk of reinforcing the illusion of always being right.
2) Do you usually follow the writings and posts of people who share your views? If not, good for you. But if you do, it’s time to reconsider. Always balance your exposure—alongside perspectives you agree with, be sure to follow those who hold opposing views as well.
You can read the Persian version of this analysis here:
توهم حق به جانب بودن؛ چگونه شبکههای اجتماعی ما را از واقعیت دور میکنند؟
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