Media use in algorithmic environments

Abstract #

This article explores the characteristics and implications of media use in algorithmic environments – defined as technical channels or platforms that personalise media content through algorithmic systems and deliver it to users in an individualised way. It examines the roles these systems play in media use and their broader social significance. The focus then shifts to the interaction between users and algorithmic environments, including users’ knowledge that algorithms exist (algorithmic awareness), their perceptions of how algorithms operate (algorithmic sensemaking), and the importance of developing skills to navigate these systems (algorithmic literacy). The article concludes by discussing potential effects of media use in algorithmic environments on information and opinion formation, and briefly addresses related methodological challenges.

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