An Algorithmically Woven Community: Disclosing Mental Illness and Connecting with Similar Others on an Algorithm-Mediated Platform in China
Nowadays, algorithms are extensively used on social platforms for content recommendations and user connections. In this study, through semi-structured interviews with 22 China-based users of RED (i.e., an algorithm-mediated platform similar to TikTok), we investigate how users who have experienced m...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Social Media + Society |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231205596 |
| _version_ | 1797658420990443520 |
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| author | Jinping Wang Jiayu Gina Qu Jindong Leo-Liu |
| author_facet | Jinping Wang Jiayu Gina Qu Jindong Leo-Liu |
| author_sort | Jinping Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Nowadays, algorithms are extensively used on social platforms for content recommendations and user connections. In this study, through semi-structured interviews with 22 China-based users of RED (i.e., an algorithm-mediated platform similar to TikTok), we investigate how users who have experienced mental illnesses (depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder) understand RED algorithms and how these algorithms shape their self-disclosure, imagined audience, and community building. Specifically, both the norms of self-disclosure and content recipients are governed by algorithms, while users with limited agency form various folk theories to navigate the process. Moreover, based on accurate content recommendations, the algorithms of RED enable users who have experienced mental illnesses to connect with similar others across the platform. By proposing the concept of an “algorithmically woven community,” we conceptualize and visualize a novel mechanism of how an algorithm works akin to a responsive authority to weave a loosely knit, decentralized , and boundless network. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T17:59:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-33b2e78e3cb14107b4a3532a966cd908 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2056-3051 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T17:59:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Media + Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-33b2e78e3cb14107b4a3532a966cd9082023-10-17T09:33:19ZengSAGE PublishingSocial Media + Society2056-30512023-10-01910.1177/20563051231205596An Algorithmically Woven Community: Disclosing Mental Illness and Connecting with Similar Others on an Algorithm-Mediated Platform in ChinaJinping Wang0Jiayu Gina Qu1Jindong Leo-Liu2University of Florida, USAThe Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaThe Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaNowadays, algorithms are extensively used on social platforms for content recommendations and user connections. In this study, through semi-structured interviews with 22 China-based users of RED (i.e., an algorithm-mediated platform similar to TikTok), we investigate how users who have experienced mental illnesses (depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder) understand RED algorithms and how these algorithms shape their self-disclosure, imagined audience, and community building. Specifically, both the norms of self-disclosure and content recipients are governed by algorithms, while users with limited agency form various folk theories to navigate the process. Moreover, based on accurate content recommendations, the algorithms of RED enable users who have experienced mental illnesses to connect with similar others across the platform. By proposing the concept of an “algorithmically woven community,” we conceptualize and visualize a novel mechanism of how an algorithm works akin to a responsive authority to weave a loosely knit, decentralized , and boundless network.https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231205596 |
| spellingShingle | Jinping Wang Jiayu Gina Qu Jindong Leo-Liu An Algorithmically Woven Community: Disclosing Mental Illness and Connecting with Similar Others on an Algorithm-Mediated Platform in China Social Media + Society |
| title | An Algorithmically Woven Community: Disclosing Mental Illness and Connecting with Similar Others on an Algorithm-Mediated Platform in China |
| title_full | An Algorithmically Woven Community: Disclosing Mental Illness and Connecting with Similar Others on an Algorithm-Mediated Platform in China |
| title_fullStr | An Algorithmically Woven Community: Disclosing Mental Illness and Connecting with Similar Others on an Algorithm-Mediated Platform in China |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Algorithmically Woven Community: Disclosing Mental Illness and Connecting with Similar Others on an Algorithm-Mediated Platform in China |
| title_short | An Algorithmically Woven Community: Disclosing Mental Illness and Connecting with Similar Others on an Algorithm-Mediated Platform in China |
| title_sort | algorithmically woven community disclosing mental illness and connecting with similar others on an algorithm mediated platform in china |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231205596 |
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