Definition of an Echo chamber
"A situation in which people only hear opinions of one type, or opinions that are similar to their own" — Cambridge Dictionary
We all live in echo chambers,
with different blind spots and different truths.
This screen is part of it. Built by algorithms
and the accounts we follow, shaped by what
we read, like, and dislike.
How we react to what we see, changes what
we're shown. And what we're shown cements
what we already believe.
Day by day, we drift further apart, losing
the truths we once shared.
So how should we understand each other when we
no longer experience the same truths?
Chamber Obscura is my attempt to create a physical representation of an echo chamber.
When you peek into Chamber Obscura, you see a newly generated image that no one else will see. It's yours for as long as you want. But when you look away, it's gone forever. This is like our experience online. You can't show anyone else your personal feed, only glimpses of it.
What we see online affects our relationship with others. It creates friction when we no longer see the same things, making it harder for us to reach each other in our different echo chambers.
Today, social media platforms customize our feeds based on how we use them, tracking everything we do to optimize their content. AI tools remember our questions and base their answers on what we have said before. Over time, they start to echo what we already think.
This project is a way to make this reality physical, and to help us understand how to talk to each other when our experience online is so personalized. I don't have any answers, but I want to find them together with you.
Project details
I want to explore echo chambers together with you, and find out what this project can become.
This fall, I'm inviting you to try Chamber Obscura over a coffee and a chat. If you have an idea for a collaboration, workshop, or presentation, I'd love to hear it too.
Feel free to reach out to me at hello@rasmusbengtsson.com.
Rasmus Bengtsson
Designer based in Stockholm
rasmusbengtsson.com