Abstract
Self-presentation is a process that is significantly complicated by the rise of algorithmic social media feeds, which obscure information about one's audience and environment. User understandings of these systems, and therefore user ability to adapt to them, are limited, and have recently been explored through the lens of folk theories. To date, little is understood of how these theories are formed, and how they tie to the self-presentation process in social media. This paper presents an exploratory look at the folk theory formation process and the interplay between folk theories and self-presentation via a 28-participant interview study. Results suggest that people draw from diverse sources of information when forming folk theories, and that folk theories are more complex, multifaceted and malleable than previously assumed. This highlights the need to integrate folk theories into both social media systems and theories of self-presentation.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | CHI 2018 - Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems |
| Subtitle of host publication | Engage with CHI |
| Publisher | Association for Computing Machinery |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781450356206, 9781450356213 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 20 2018 |
| Event | 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2018 - Montreal, Canada Duration: Apr 21 2018 → Apr 26 2018 |
Publication series
| Name | Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings |
|---|---|
| Volume | 2018-April |
Other
| Other | 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2018 |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| City | Montreal |
| Period | 4/21/18 → 4/26/18 |
Fingerprint
Keywords
- Algorithm awareness
- Algorithmic curation
- Algorithms
- Folk theories
- Grounded theory
- Social feeds
- Social media
- Theory formation
- User understandings
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design
- Software
Cite this
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How people form folk theories of social media feeds and what it means for how we study self-presentation. / Devito, Michael A.; Birnholtz, Jeremy P; Hancock, Jeffery T.; French, Megan; Liu, Sunny.
CHI 2018 - Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems: Engage with CHI. Association for Computing Machinery, 2018. (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings; Vol. 2018-April).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
TY - GEN
T1 - How people form folk theories of social media feeds and what it means for how we study self-presentation
AU - Devito, Michael A.
AU - Birnholtz, Jeremy P
AU - Hancock, Jeffery T.
AU - French, Megan
AU - Liu, Sunny
PY - 2018/4/20
Y1 - 2018/4/20
N2 - Self-presentation is a process that is significantly complicated by the rise of algorithmic social media feeds, which obscure information about one's audience and environment. User understandings of these systems, and therefore user ability to adapt to them, are limited, and have recently been explored through the lens of folk theories. To date, little is understood of how these theories are formed, and how they tie to the self-presentation process in social media. This paper presents an exploratory look at the folk theory formation process and the interplay between folk theories and self-presentation via a 28-participant interview study. Results suggest that people draw from diverse sources of information when forming folk theories, and that folk theories are more complex, multifaceted and malleable than previously assumed. This highlights the need to integrate folk theories into both social media systems and theories of self-presentation.
AB - Self-presentation is a process that is significantly complicated by the rise of algorithmic social media feeds, which obscure information about one's audience and environment. User understandings of these systems, and therefore user ability to adapt to them, are limited, and have recently been explored through the lens of folk theories. To date, little is understood of how these theories are formed, and how they tie to the self-presentation process in social media. This paper presents an exploratory look at the folk theory formation process and the interplay between folk theories and self-presentation via a 28-participant interview study. Results suggest that people draw from diverse sources of information when forming folk theories, and that folk theories are more complex, multifaceted and malleable than previously assumed. This highlights the need to integrate folk theories into both social media systems and theories of self-presentation.
KW - Algorithm awareness
KW - Algorithmic curation
KW - Algorithms
KW - Folk theories
KW - Grounded theory
KW - Social feeds
KW - Social media
KW - Theory formation
KW - User understandings
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85046958847&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85046958847&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1145/3173574.3173694
DO - 10.1145/3173574.3173694
M3 - Conference contribution
T3 - Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings
BT - CHI 2018 - Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
PB - Association for Computing Machinery
ER -