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
References
Bonch-Osmolovskaya T.B. (2016) Labirinty kombinatornoy literatury: ot palindroma k fraktalu [Labyrinths of Combinatorial Literature: from Palindrome to Fractal]. Textonica Media. (in Russian). Available at: http://www.textonica.com/новости/
Bonch-Osmolovskaya T.B. (2009) Vvedenie v literaturu formal'nykh ogranicheniy. Literatura formy i igry ot antichnosti do nashikh dney[Imposition of Formal Restrictions to the Literature. Literature of Shape and Game, from Antiquity to the Present Day]. Samara: Bakhrakh-M Publ.
Giddens E. (2011) Posledstviya sovremennosti[Consequences of Modernity]. Moscow: Praksis Publ.
Kron G. (1978) Tenzornyy analiz setey[Tensor Analysis of Networks]. Ed. by Kuzin L.T., Kuznetsov P.G. Moscow: Sovetskoe Radio Publ.
Kuli Ch. (1994) Sotsial'naya samost' [Social Selfishness]. In: Amerikanskaya sotsiologicheskaya mysl': Teksty[American Sociological Conception]. Moscow: Moscow St. Univ. Publ., pp. 172−178.
Luhmann N. (2005) Real'nost' massmedia[Reality of Mass Media]. Moscow: Praksis Publ.
Luhmann N. (2007) Vvedenie v sistemnuyu teoriyu[Introduction to the System Theory]. Ed. by. D. Becker. Moscow: Logos Publ.
Mancini P. (2018) Old and New Echo Chambers. In: Vartanova E. (ed.) Digital Transformations of Mass Media: Regional, National and Global Aspects. The 10th International Media Readings in Moscow «Mass Media and Communications 2018». Abstracts. Moscow, October 25−26, 2018, p. 14.
Mandelbrot B.B. (1977) Fractals: Form, Chance and Dimension. W.H. Freeman and Co.
McPherson M., Smith-Lovin L., Cook J.M. (2001) Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks. Annual Review of Sociology 27: 415–444. DOI: 10.3410/f.725356294.793504070
McQuire S. (2018) Geomedia: setevye goroda i budushchee obshchestvennogo prostranstva [Geomedia. Networked Cities and the Future of Public Space]. Moscow: Strelka Press Publ.
Nekrasov D.Yu. (2014) Fraktal'naya grafika kak tsifrovoe bespredmetnoe iskusstvo [Fractal Graphic as Digital Objectless Art]. Vestnik VGIK 1: 68–76.
Nikolaeva E.V. (2013) Kontseptual'nyy fraktal v kul'turnykh sistemakh [Conceptual Pattern in Cultural Sistems]. Vestnik Chelyabinskogo gosudarstvennogo universitetata 13 (304): 68–70.
Paytgen Kh.-O., Rikhter P.Kh. (1993) Krasota fraktalov. Obrazy kompleksnykh dinamicheskikh system[Fairness of Fractals. Images of Complex Dynamic Systems]. Moscow: Mir Publ.
Petrov A., Proncheva O. (2018) Modeling Propaganda Battle: Decision-Making, Homophily, and Echo Chambers. In: 7th International Conference. AINL: Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language. St. Petersburg, Russia, October 17–19, 2018, pp 197−209. Available at: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-030-01204-5_19.pdf
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-01204-5_19
Pinheiro C.A.R. (2011) Social Network Analysis in Telecommunications. John Willey and Sons.
Popkov Yu.S., Tishchenko V.I. (2004) Virtual'nye soobshchestva v strukture vlasti (metodologicheskie aspekty)[Virtual Communities in the Power Structure (methodological aspects)]. Moscow: Editorial URSS Publ.
Prigozhin I., Stengers I. (1986) Poryadok iz khaosa: Novyy dialog cheloveka s prirodoy[Order out of Chaos: New Dialogue between Humans and Nature]. Moscow: Progress Publ.
Vartanova E.L. (2018) Ob osnovnykh ponyatiyakh «polya tsifrovykh media» v rossiyskikh issledovaniyakh SMI [Concepts of the Digital Media Field in Russian Mass Media Research]. MediaAlmanah 2: 8−16. DOI: 10.30547/mediaalmanah.2.2018.816
Vartanova E.L. (ed.) (2019) Ot teorii zhurnalistiki k teorii media. Dinamika mediaissledovaniy v sovremennoy Rossii[From the Theory of Journalism to Media Theory. The Dynamics of Media Research in Modern Russia: a collective monograph]. Moscow: Moscow St. Univ., Faculty of Journalism, Moscow St. Univ. Publ.
Zamkov A.V. (2019) Gipoteza «ekho-kamery» v issledovanii novykh media ['Echo Camber' Hypothesis in New Media Research]. In: Zhurnalistika v 2018 godu: tvorchestvo, professiya, perspektivy: sbornik materialov mezhdunarodnoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii[Journalism in 2018: Creation, Profession, Industry: Collection of Writings of the International Scientific and Practical Conference]. Moscow: Faculty of Journalism, Moscow St. Univ. Publ., pp. 544–545.