The Primary Predictors Behind the Formation of Social Bubbles on Online Social Media Platforms: Focusing on Young Individuals in Ukraine

This research focuses on examining why young social media users might become trapped in a "social bubble" defined as seeking information that supports only one’s existing beliefs. We use a method called Qualitative Comparative Analysis to identify various combinations of factors that either contribute to or prevent the formation of these bubbles. Our findings reveal three combinations that tend to create social bubbles. All three involve young people's tendency to conform to dominant opinions and how often they expose themselves to diverse viewpoints. We have also identified one combination that leads to the opposite outcome, where young individuals reject the idea of being in a social bubble. Specifically, such persons are characterized by rarely conforming to dominant opinions, engaging in frequent debates, and regularly exposing themselves to diverse perspectives, even if they use only a few social media platforms. These results suggest that universities can play an important role in shaping social media behavior by teaching students to seek out diverse viewpoints and critically evaluate them to form their own independent opinions.