The Algorithmized Self
Psych 🧠- 292/300
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What is it?
This paper explores how people create and present themselves on the social media platform, TikTok.
It focuses on the unique role of TikTok's algorithm, which heavily influences the content users see.
The researchers interviewed college students and analyzed the app's design and features to understand how users interact with the algorithm and how it shapes their experience.
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What do I need to know?
This research highlights how TikTok is changing the way we present ourselves online and how algorithms are playing a bigger role in shaping our social media experiences.
Awareness of the algorithm: Users are very aware of the "For You" algorithm and how it personalizes their content feeds. They even try to "work with" the algorithm to see more of what they like.
Content without context: TikTok emphasizes content over social connections. Users enjoy the personalized content curated by the algorithm, even if they don't follow the creators.
Self-creation across platforms: Users compare TikTok to other platforms like Instagram and YouTube, but struggle to define it. TikTok seems to combine features from different types of social media, creating a unique space for self-making.
Key takeaways:
The "algorithmized self": TikTok introduces a new way of self-making online, where users interact with versions of themselves as curated by the algorithm. This differs from other platforms where self-making is more focused on interacting with others.
TikTok defies categorization: It blends features from different social media types, making it difficult to define. This suggests that our current ways of understanding social media are too rigid.
Evolving social media landscape: The rise of algorithms is changing how social media works and how users experience it. Platforms are becoming more interconnected and less distinct, blurring the lines between categories.
Reference:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20563051221086241