MEDIA LITERACY / SIMULATION
FILTER BUBBLE LAB
An educational tool using the fictional social network Flock to show how a recommendation feed shifts in response to your actions. Analysis and short lessons follow the simulation.
- UseClasses / independent study
- MaterialEntirely fictional
- Network / storageNone
Experience first, then learn
Test how reactions affect later recommendations, then review the analysis, a short lesson, five quiz questions, and a second attempt.
Safe teaching design
All posts, people, and networks are fictional. The tool avoids politics, religion, and real organisations, and neither saves nor transmits your actions.
How the experience works
- React to posts in Flock's fictional recommendation feed.
- See later posts change and the feed gradually narrow in response.
- Review your actions and the recommendation changes in the reveal screen.
- Study the terms in a short lesson and answer five multiple-choice questions.
- Try again with a diversity score and compare the result.
There is no correct response in the first run. Choose as you normally might on social media. The selections do not assess your real beliefs or personality.
What the reveal shows
Review the inferred interest profile, changes in feed diversity, and posts excluded from the recommendations. You can compare the feed with that of a fictional user who has opposite preferences.
The review also shows reactions to posts designated low-trust. This is not a grade; it is a prompt to pause and check the source and evidence behind familiar or repeatedly shown information.
Lesson and second attempt
The lesson covers filter bubbles, echo chambers, and confirmation bias, followed by five questions. During the second attempt, use the diversity score to test how engaging with other topics and viewpoints changes recommendations. Avoiding your own interests is not the goal.
Classroom and independent use
The tool can introduce information ethics, media literacy, or inquiry learning. After an individual run, record observations and discuss excluded information and the opposing user's feed. End by choosing one practical way to broaden everyday information sources.
For independent study, compare not only the two diversity scores but also how your choices changed. This is a simulation of recommendation inputs, not a contest for the highest score.
Data handling
The tool is free and requires no account. Post selections, inferred interests, quiz answers, and scores are not transmitted. There are no ads, analytics, or external API calls, and CSP prohibits external connections.
No device storage such as Local Storage is used. Data exists only for the open session and a reload resets it. Write down anything needed for class before closing the page.
Frequently asked questions
Is payment or an account required?
No. Open the page in a browser and begin.
What age is it intended for?
Primarily secondary-school age and above. Younger pupils should use it with an adult who can explain the terminology and analysis.
Are the people or posts real?
No. Flock, its users, and its posts are fictional educational material and do not depict political, religious, or real organisations.
Can it be used in school?
Yes, for lessons such as information ethics, media literacy, and inquiry learning, followed by discussion of changing and excluded recommendations.
Are actions or quiz results retained?
No. The session is not stored and reloading resets it.
Is data sent elsewhere?
No. There are no ads, analytics, or external APIs, and CSP blocks external connections.