What does it mean that information feedback loops?

What you read shapes what you think which shapes what you seek out to read.

Example: You read three articles about declining economic conditions. They confirm a concern you already held. Now you are primed — your next search query includes words like 'recession,' 'downturn,' 'market crash.' The search engine returns results matching those terms. You read them. Your concern deepens. Your next conversation references these articles, and the person you are talking to sends you two more. Within a week, your information environment has reorganized itself around a single narrative — not because the evidence is overwhelming, but because your consumption pattern generated a feedback loop that systematically amplified one signal and suppressed everything else.

Try this: For three days, keep an information consumption log. Every time you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast, or scroll through a feed, write down: (1) the topic, (2) whether it confirmed or challenged something you already believed, and (3) how you found it — did you seek it out, or was it served to you? At the end of three days, tally the confirms versus challenges. Most people discover a ratio of 5:1 or higher. Then examine the 'how you found it' column. Track how many items you actively sought versus how many were algorithmically served. The intersection — content that confirmed your beliefs AND was algorithmically delivered — is your active feedback loop. That is the loop to watch.