Burst: an app that bursts your filter bubble and brings healthy media consumption
Social media has become one of the main sources of information for many of us. With the growth in the number of users, the algorithms of the social networks have developed, bringing the core principle — content related to you. Thus people tend to over-consume information they are already familiar with, information that they most likely agree with.
As a result, we become isolated inside our filter bubbles, our outlook becomes narrower, we lose sight of the big picture, and the society becomes more polarised and aggressive.
Check out the complete case study on Medium.
Distribution of Democrats and Republicans in the United States, based on the survey conducted by PEW Research Center. The smaller the overlap between liberals and conservatives, the stronger the political polarisation.
The idea
Burst is an app that bursts your mental filter bubble by bringing an alternative news feed. The app mixes interface patterns of both news and fitness apps, thereby offering diverse content in a playful way.
Social media overconsumption can be compared with high-carb junk food — the easier to digest, the tastier. So, what can help avoid what Eli Pariser called ‘the digital obesity’ and ‘isolated web of one’? It’s a healthy and balanced information feed that not only assures you in your beliefs but lets you open your mind to the new and unexpected.
The horizontal axis represents the polarisation of opinions, while the vertical axis represents their relevance.
The tougher the challenge, the more points it brings.
How it works
1. Getting access to your current sources of information
You can connect your social media accounts (incl. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit) or manually set up an RSS feed to define the most relevant topics.
You can connect your social media accounts (incl. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit) or manually set up an RSS feed to define the most relevant topics.
2. Analysing the community ✨
By comparing the activity of different people, we’ll be able to detect the level of polarisation.
By comparing the activity of different people, we’ll be able to detect the level of polarisation.
3. Composing the content that other media would find irrelevant for you:
🔥 Opinions you most likely disagree with
🗑 Subtopics you may find irrelevant
🙈 Facts you prefer to ignore
🔥 Opinions you most likely disagree with
🗑 Subtopics you may find irrelevant
🙈 Facts you prefer to ignore
4. Keeping you motivated
We can reach this by setting specific and achievable goals rather than generic ones, and other gamification mechanics.
We can reach this by setting specific and achievable goals rather than generic ones, and other gamification mechanics.
5. Escaping the filter bubble
Even if you only skim through the headlines, the alternative news feed will still affect the way you think.
Even if you only skim through the headlines, the alternative news feed will still affect the way you think.
Community
You can also access the news feeds of other community members to see the world through the eyes of your potential opponents or random strangers. The higher the total number of points earned by a user, the more their picture reveals. As a result, the amount of common topics and shared opinions gradually increases while the level of polarisation goes down.
Decreasing the level of polarisation.
Progress and achievements
The process of game-thinking and game mechanics help to engage more people and to keep them using the app in the most effective way. Following the idea of healthy and responsible consumption, our app adopts methods and patterns which are especially popular in sports and health related products.
A pleasant fact or news or another easy-to-consume content is offered as a reward.
