Theorizing “Stories About Algorithms” as a Mechanism in the Formation and Maintenance of Algorithmic Imaginaries

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Schellewald, Andreas. 2022. Theorizing “Stories About Algorithms” as a Mechanism in the Formation and Maintenance of Algorithmic Imaginaries. Social Media + Society, 8(1), ISSN 2056-3051 [Article]

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Official URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2056...

Abstract or Description

In this article, I report from an ethnographic investigation into young adult users of the popular short-video app TikTok. More specifically, I discuss their experience of TikTok’s algorithmic content feed, or so-called “For You Page.” Like many other personalized online environments today, the For You Page is marked by the tension of being a mechanism of digital surveillance and affective control, yet also a source of entertainment and pleasure. Focusing on people’s sense-making practices, especially in relation to stories about the TikTok algorithm, the article approaches the discursive repertoire that underpins people’s negotiation of this tension. Doing so, I theorize the role and relevance of “stories about algorithms” within the context of algorithmic imaginaries as activating users in sense-making processes about their algorithmic entanglements.

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Article

Identification Number (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221077025