Algorithmic normativity and YouTube video consumption by college students

Authors

  • Egle Müller Spinelli Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing
  • Daniela Osvald Ramos Universidade de São Paulo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4013/fem.2021.231.07

Abstract

The algorithmic actions present on technology platforms such as YouTube are processed inside black boxes inaccessible to users. However, that does not mean they cannot be researched. This study investigates the perception of the algorithm influence on first year college students’ media consumption on YouTube in order to understand normative implications in the use of this platform. The methodological/theoretical framework are the three out of five types of normativity pointed out by Lee and Larsen (2019): the one that is concerned with social practice from algorithmic propositions; the one that investigates the relationship between the opacity of the algorithm and the user; and the one that observes the normative effects inherent to algorithmic logic. The preliminary discussions and results demonstrate that young people consider themselves to be knowledgeable about how algorithmic decisions are processed, but the degree of influence of these processes on their lives is still quite diffuse.

Keywords: Normativity. Algorithm. Media consumption.

Author Biographies

Egle Müller Spinelli, Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing

Docente do curso de Jornalismo e do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Comunicação e Práticas de Consumo da ESPM (PPGCOM, ESPM-SP), doutora em Ciências da Comunicação pela Universidade de São Paulo.

Daniela Osvald Ramos, Universidade de São Paulo

Docente no curso de  Educomunicação e do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Comunicação da Escola de Comunicações e Artes da Universidade de São Paulo

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Published

2021-04-26

Issue

Vol. 23 No. 1 (2021): Janeiro/Abril

Section

Articles

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