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“PS. If I go missing... i have been banned again” - A netnographic study of users’ opposition to algorithmic censorship of the female body on Instagram

Strand, Linnea LU (2022) SOCK10 20221
Sociology
Abstract
As algorithmically-driven content moderation has become a common feature of social media platforms to suppress communications deemed undesirable, scholars have started to examine users’ relations to algorithmic systems and problems of machine bias and governmentality. While most researchers have focused on the negative aspects of censorship, few have explored the possibilities of users to oppose algorithmic control. Through a netnographic approach and content analysis of social media posts, the purpose of this thesis was to address the possibility of Instagram users to oppose algorithmic censorship of the female body. The analysis draws on Michel de Certeau’s (1984) concepts of strategies as the ways in which platforms censor their users,... (More)
As algorithmically-driven content moderation has become a common feature of social media platforms to suppress communications deemed undesirable, scholars have started to examine users’ relations to algorithmic systems and problems of machine bias and governmentality. While most researchers have focused on the negative aspects of censorship, few have explored the possibilities of users to oppose algorithmic control. Through a netnographic approach and content analysis of social media posts, the purpose of this thesis was to address the possibility of Instagram users to oppose algorithmic censorship of the female body. The analysis draws on Michel de Certeau’s (1984) concepts of strategies as the ways in which platforms censor their users, and tactics as users’ acts of technology resistance for trying to maintain visibility on the platform. The thesis found that users' opposition largely revolved around expectation violation, with “folk theories” and “folk beliefs” acting as frames for formulating various forms of “tactics of opposition”. In doing so, this thesis raises questions about the opportunity for productive agency for users and our increasingly complex relationship with automated technologies in everyday life. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Strand, Linnea LU
supervisor
organization
course
SOCK10 20221
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Algorithms, Censorship, Technology, User Agency, Algorithmic Resistance
language
English
id
9086148
date added to LUP
2022-06-14 15:56:11
date last changed
2023-01-11 11:21:41
@misc{9086148,
  abstract     = {{As algorithmically-driven content moderation has become a common feature of social media platforms to suppress communications deemed undesirable, scholars have started to examine users’ relations to algorithmic systems and problems of machine bias and governmentality. While most researchers have focused on the negative aspects of censorship, few have explored the possibilities of users to oppose algorithmic control. Through a netnographic approach and content analysis of social media posts, the purpose of this thesis was to address the possibility of Instagram users to oppose algorithmic censorship of the female body. The analysis draws on Michel de Certeau’s (1984) concepts of strategies as the ways in which platforms censor their users, and tactics as users’ acts of technology resistance for trying to maintain visibility on the platform. The thesis found that users' opposition largely revolved around expectation violation, with “folk theories” and “folk beliefs” acting as frames for formulating various forms of “tactics of opposition”. In doing so, this thesis raises questions about the opportunity for productive agency for users and our increasingly complex relationship with automated technologies in everyday life.}},
  author       = {{Strand, Linnea}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{“PS. If I go missing... i have been banned again” - A netnographic study of users’ opposition to algorithmic censorship of the female body on Instagram}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}