From echo chambers to 'idea chambers': Concurrent online interactions with similar and dissimilar others

Countering conventional theory, this study found that online homophily and heterophily-connectivity with both similar and dissimilar others-are not necessarily countervailing phenomena, among representative surveys of internet users from five Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Lebanon, Qatar, and UAE (N = 4,198). Respondents who said the Internet has increased their contact with politically and religiously similar people also tended to say it increased their contact with politically and religiously dissimilar people. A four-item scale measuring online political and religious homophily and heterophily was reliable (a = .754 overall; .79 among Arab nationals), and is referred to in this article as an 'idea chamber' index. Confirmatory Factor Analysis and inter-item correlations of scale items are two additional tests that affirm the internal consistency of the measure. Implications for research on digital communication are discussed.