It's all about you : personalized Facebook news feeds' impact on users' exposure to ideologically varied content

Violet Macleod

doi:10.32920/ryerson.14665035.v1

Abstract

This critical literature analysis is a comprehensive collection and review of the literature concerning the use of recommender systems to curate social media content, specifically Facebook News Feeds. This Major Research Paper (MRP) critically evaluates the existing research to consolidate the literature on insular online spaces, identify ways in which public opinion could be affected by insular content, and find strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in the literature. After completing an extensive literature review and analysis, it was determined that researchers are polarized by the topic, while journalists (whose articles comprise the considered supplementary literature) are united in their reporting of Facebook as being a filter bubble. While additional empirical research is necessary for a firm conclusion to be drawn about insular online existences, preliminary results indicate that Facebook News Feeds’ ability to curate personalized content may be manipulating and limiting users’ exposure to ideologically varied media.

Highlights

Searching for a reason as to why people appeared to be insulated in their opinions, a connection was made between individuals’ exposure to news media and a study that showed many American citizens source their information from social media networks, their Facebook News Feeds (Michelle, Gottfried, Barthel & Shearer, 2016)
This concept is what initially generated interest and inspired the research for this Major Research Paper (MRP), which is a critical literature analysis designed to review the existing literature concerning the use of recommender systems to curate social media content, Facebook News Feeds
The evidence supporting Facebook News Feeds as filter bubbles that perpetuate ignorance stemming from a lack of exposure to ideologically diverse media is limited, but expanding

Summary

Introduction

In 2014, I attended a City Hall-style open house in Calgary, Alberta. At the event, local citizens were arguing about the upcoming construction of a citywide bikeway network. Searching for a reason as to why people appeared to be insulated in their opinions, a connection was made between individuals’ exposure to news media and a study that showed many American citizens source their information from social media networks, their Facebook News Feeds (Michelle, Gottfried, Barthel & Shearer, 2016). When Facebook News Feeds are used as a primary news source, one could assume that users are exclusively exposed to content that hosts uniform ideologies creating insular media environments. This concept is what initially generated interest and inspired the research for this Major Research Paper (MRP), which is a critical literature analysis designed to review the existing literature concerning the use of recommender systems to curate social media content, Facebook News Feeds. Weaknesses, and gaps in the literature about insular online spaces, this MRP aims to identify ways in which public opinion

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Discussion

Conclusion