Everyone agreeing with each other is fun, actually.
From situations as innocuous as forum wars over whether the new Tame Impala album actually does suck, all the way to occurrences as important as New York Times opinion ghouls writing articles called stuff like: “Esteemed Professor Horatio Slursayer Silenced by Woke Students,” there is perhaps no ideatic space more popularly maligned than the echo chamber. Referring, of course, to a space in which ideological consensus reigns and dissent is not tolerated, the echo chamber is a frequent target of attack from both the left (usually referring to right-wing think tanks shaping the nation’s political future) and the right (usually referring to a gay-only Dungeons & Dragons club or some other super important thing). Frankly, I think that the echo chamber gets a bad rap, and it has many subtle pleasures that perhaps cannot be experienced from the outside. Let’s talk about it—but only read on if you already agree with me.
The primary line of criticism leveled at echo chambers is that, by not tolerating ideological diversity, they stifle healthy debate. To this, I respond: have you ever been in a room with a bunch of people having a healthy debate? It’s a fucking nightmare! The one thing I remember about high school debate club was a kid getting so incensed over what he thought was the best future for Canadian energy policy that he winged a blackboard eraser at the moderator’s head. Imagine if you and your friends’ hangouts had an ideological diversity requirement, and you had to drag along some smug, pocket-protector wearing asshole to go: “Ah, I just don’t know about this critical race theory stuff,” while you’re trying to watch a movie. In my opinion, it’s a simple and underacknowledged pleasure to be in a room full of people who agree with you. Having my own opinion uncritically parroted back to me is awesome! I love my opinions; that’s why I have them!
“But then,” might say the critic of the echo chamber, “how are you ever going to learn and grow?” I don’t know, man, I’ll read a book or watch a documentary or listen to a two-hour communist Youtube video while I play Bugsnax or something. I don’t doubt that there are new insights to be found about the world, I just doubt I’m gonna get them from you. They may then say: “Don’t you know that ideological echo chambers have led to everything from racial prejudice to extermination camps going unchallenged?” To that, I’d say: “Jesus Christ, man, this is a comedy article! I just made a Bugsnax reference and you’re bringing up the Nazis?” And then I assume they’d feel ashamed and walk away. At least, that’s what all my friends say would happen—and surely I can trust that.