The Facebook newsfeed: Are algorithms shaping our experience of the world we live in?
Computer algorithms have become essential. The use of these to filter and present information online shapes our everyday experience. But at the heart of many concerns is an assumption that in the relationship between humans and algorithms, we are not the ones in control. Let’s understand what algorithms are and take a closer look at the Facebook newsfeed.
Social media usage among internet users is almost universal. But even if you don’t consider yourself active on social media, you must have experienced Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm one way or another. The Facebook algorithm decides which posts users see every time they check their Facebook newsfeed, and in what order those posts show up. In other words, instead of presenting every available post in chronological order, the Facebook algorithm evaluates every post, scores it based on recency, popularity, content type, and relationship, and then arranges it in descending order of interest for each individual user. This process happens every time you refresh your newsfeed. And although no one knows every detail on how the Facebook algorithm decides what to show, everyone knows that one of its main goals is to keep users scrolling, so that they see more ads.
Critics have asked Facebook to be more transparent about the relationship between its users and the algorithm and requested more control over what is shown to them and how their information is used. In response, Facebook is now making it easier to view a non-algorithmic newsfeed. Namely, the recently launched “Favorites”, displays posts from up to 30 of your favorite friends and pages, as well as the “Most Recent” view, which shows posts in chronological order. Although the latter isn’t entirely new, it has been made easier to access.
The Facebook newsfeed algorithm is just a singular example. Computer algorithms have become essential to how the modern world operates. The use of these to filter and present information online shapes our everyday experience. But before we dive deeper, let’s take one step back: What is an algorithm?
An algorithm is a series of steps taken to solve a specific problem. In computer science, a problem is a task that when it is solved produces a desired result. Computers are essentially calculators, adding, subtracting, and otherwise manipulating 1s and 0s to get from point A to point B. At its core, everything computers do revolves around the simple task of solving a problem by taking a series of steps to arrive to a desired result.
But it wasn’t until the age of computers that algorithms began to take a mathematical approach to non-mathematical problems. Nowadays algorithms are some of the most important solutions to problems currently powering the world. They work programmatically, instruction by instruction, allowing people to get from a current state to a desired one. They are the answer to the singular question: how do I solve a specific problem? Let’s take Google as another example. Google’s PageRank algorithm began as an answer to a problem: How should we rank the results returned from matching a query term to entries in our webpage index? There were millions of matching pages for each given query term, some order had to be imposed.
However, the relationship between internet users and the algorithms that present them with personalized content is complex. Algorithms are central to how information is located, retrieved, and presented to us. To do so, algorithms assume certain parameters and values, and are in continuous change, with changes made by both humans and machines. Lodged within a complex combination of political, technical, cultural, and social interactions, algorithms can influence ways of seeing the world, reproduce stereotypes, strengthen world views, restrict choices, or open previously unidentified possibilities.
Recall the Facebook example above. Like Google’s PageRank algorithm, Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm began as an answer to a problem: What posts should we show and how should we order them? But unlike Google’s PageRank algorithm, there has been no shortage of criticism. From political polarization, to misinformation and hate speech. The list is long.
However, at the heart of many of these concerns is an assumption that in the relationship between humans and algorithms, we are not the ones in control. There’s a lot to discuss there. Companies like Facebook do need to be open about how the relationship between its users and their major algorithms really works. But ultimately, content ranking is a dynamic play between people and algorithms. In Nick Clegg’s (Facebook’s VP of global affairs) words: “On Facebook, it takes two to tango […] You should be able to talk back to the algorithm and consciously adjust or ignore the predictions it makes — to alter your personal algorithm in the cold light of day, through breathing spaces built into the design of the platform”.
