4 ms·

There are some good points here, but I think this article buys too much into the fantasy of magical algorithms -- that the systems for ranking and filtering tha

by panic 9y ago

There are some good points here, but I think this article buys too much into the fantasy of magical algorithms -- that the systems for ranking and filtering that are tuned for maximizing engagement and trying to get people to click on ads actually change people's concept of identity in a noticeable way. People identified with stuff on Facebook just as much when it was an unfiltered feed of wall posts. If anything, Facebook has sacrificed some of its identity-shaping power in exchange for more engagement and ad sales. People are moving more of their real social interaction to other places, leaving Facebook to be mostly a source of news and updates from casual acquaintances.

nerdponx 9y ago
What about the subconscious suggestive effects of your feed as it evolves over time?
- panic 9y ago
  I think the effect of social media in general is way bigger than the effect of the ranking algorithms specifically. The "serial pleasures of checking for likes and other forms of micro-recognition made suddenly meaningful by the acute insecurity" (as the article so eloquently puts it) have a much bigger impact on how we choose to present ourselves than the news articles and ads we are shown, for example.
  - sesqu 9y ago
    I potentially disagree. I think the impact of social media's reward cycle is major, but not directly on the user's identity - rather, I believe it causes significant feedback into non-algorithmic filtering (and from there to the algorithmic component, as the organic part is presumably valued by predictors). World-view, then, is shaped by the algorithmic filters and detailed by the performances of others on social media, but the effect on identity is circumspect. So I would say that the algorithms are more important, because they define the environment that parameterizes normalcy. Identity forms mostly asocially, and it is not interactive.

by panic 9y ago

nerdponx 9y ago

What about the subconscious suggestive effects of your feed as it evolves over time?

panic 9y ago
I think the effect of social media in general is way bigger than the effect of the ranking algorithms specifically. The "serial pleasures of checking for likes and other forms of micro-recognition made suddenly meaningful by the acute insecurity" (as the article so eloquently puts it) have a much bigger impact on how we choose to present ourselves than the news articles and ads we are shown, for example.
- sesqu 9y ago
  I potentially disagree. I think the impact of social media's reward cycle is major, but not directly on the user's identity - rather, I believe it causes significant feedback into non-algorithmic filtering (and from there to the algorithmic component, as the organic part is presumably valued by predictors). World-view, then, is shaped by the algorithmic filters and detailed by the performances of others on social media, but the effect on identity is circumspect. So I would say that the algorithms are more important, because they define the environment that parameterizes normalcy. Identity forms mostly asocially, and it is not interactive.