Algorithm-curated friendship narrows one’s social world into a self-reinforcing echo
Evidence
This brings me to a final reason for the “care” that was suggested to me at Lake Merritt. Let’s say I decided to spend my entire life caring only about my family, current friends, and potential friends recommended to me by an algorithm—even or especially an impressive one which is often “right,” according to criteria like “people who are knowledgeable about my interests” or “people who in some way will help me advance along my career path” or even “people who have things I want.” Let’s further imagine that I only interacted with those friends in similarly “recommended” ways, like going to art openings, having conversations about art, or activities that start to sound more like networking. I’d venture that something would begin to happen to me and my social world that’s similar to what’s happened with the Discover Weekly playlist on my Spotify account. — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 467
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Algorithmic personalization erodes the shared public space that allows surprise — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 1287; Algorithm-curated feeds amplify like-minded information sharing more than self-curated platforms — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 446; Algorithmic feeds convert the open Internet into personalized echo chambers — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 192 (+2 more)
- yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Algorithmic personalization erodes the shared public space that allows surprise — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 1287; Algorithm-curated feeds amplify like-minded information sharing more than self-curated platforms — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 446; Algorithmic feeds convert the open Internet into personalized echo chambers — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 192 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Algorithmic personalization fragments viewing into solipsistic echo chambers that block encounter with the other
#expands(0.95) — Anna Kornbluh, Immediacy, or The Style of Too Late…, 209