Social media - social algorithms?

Teenagers like Instagram and co. because this is where their friends hang out and because they find content that appeals to them. But who decides what they see?

Teenagers spend a lot of time on social media: according to the JAMES study conducted by the ZHAW in 2016, 80 per cent of Swiss teenagers visit social media daily or several times a week. They exchange information with people who share the same interests - worldwide. And, most importantly, they receive feedback on their posts. Because they want to know how they are received by the online community.
The star among social networks is Instagram: according to the JAMES Study 2016, 81 per cent of young people have a profile here. At the same time, fewer and fewer teenagers are reading newspapers or watching TV news. Our children are therefore informing themselves primarily via social media. This is where they receive news in the form of snippets of information that are tailored to their interests - that is the promise of social networks.

Instagram's secret

But who selects the news? Who controls the flow of information? And most importantly, who protects users from false reports? After all, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and the like do not have an editorial team that separates important news from unimportant news or correct news from false news. This task is performed by programmes, so-called algorithms. And how exactly these work remains the secret of the platform operators: the algorithms of Instagram, Facebook and other platforms are not publicly accessible.

Facebook knows after 300 likes

What is nevertheless known: The latest posts do not necessarily appear at the top and not all news from subscribed people and pages are displayed. Today, relevance is what counts. According to its own information, Instagram measures this according to three criteria: Interest, recency and relationship. «Interest» assesses how many reactions a post generates - i.e. likes or comments.
«Recency» means that a user who logs in for the first time is more likely to be shown posts that have just been posted. And «Relationship» determines the relationship between user and sender. For example, how long they have known each other and how often they interact with each other. The algorithm also takes into account how long a user stays with a post and how intensively they react to it. Even if the algorithms are kept secret, one thing is clear: dissenting opinions and comprehensive information are withheld from the user. And according to experts, algorithms can already draw a picture of the user based on around 300 likes, which contains private information such as whether the parents are divorced.
Anyone who uses Google, WhatsApp and the like leaves behind data. This data is combined and interpreted - with the aim of knowing and recognising each user as accurately as possible. For young people, this means: think carefully about what you reveal about yourself, what you post, where you spend how long and what you comment on and how. For parents it means: Don't get tired of talking to your children about digital media.
Image: Adobe Stock

To the author:

Michael in Albon ist Jugendmedienschutzbeauftragter und Medienkompetenzexperte von Swisscom.
Michael in Albon is Swisscom's youth media protection officer and media competence expert.
facebook.com/michaelinalbon
twitter.com/MichaelInAlbon

On Medienstark you will find tips and interactive learning modules for the competent use of digital media in everyday family life.

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