User Agency Research Articles

The Development of Media from Symbols to Algorithmic Media and its Effects on Power Structures, Communication and Agency

The aim of this article is to look at algorithmic media and how they shift and alter everyday media-related practices and content, and with it power relations as well as agency between media institutions, medium and users. It does so from a historical perspective using the waves of mediatisation by Couldry and Hepp (2018) to discern different phases of media development and describe how the affordances of the most popular media of each wave alter media-related practices. This helps to put the changes induced by algorithmic media into perspective. While algorithmic media have existed since the wave of digitalisation, they have become a lot more independent, complex and visible with the introduction of social and chatbots (Alexa, Siri) and artificial intelligence (ChatGPT). Algorithmic media have inflicted changes to communicative practices as we are now communicating with machines, which always have an invisible bystander in the form of a media company listening in. Furthermore, we find a broadening of user agency and power with the establishment of Web 1.0, which is gradually being reduced with the upcoming of Web 2.0 as well as the usage of social and algorithmic media.

Navigating platformized generative AI: Examining early adopters’ experiences through the lens of data reflectivity

Following the widely noticed launch of ChatGPT 3.5 in November 2022, an unprecedented number of users have started to experiment with generative AI for communication purposes. Prior studies have shown how users are commodified by platforms, and the unprecedented development of generative AI raises hence once again questions of platform dynamics vs user agency. In this study, we argue that platformized generative AI (GenAI) actively ‘talks back’ to their users, prompting them to act accordingly. Theoretically, we develop the concept of data reflectivity as a critical lens, showing that users exhibit reflective practices. These allow them to reflect upon their own role in relation to platformized GenAI and thus alter their patterns of action. The empirical case study, carried out in Spring 2023, draws on a survey with 60 early adopters and 14 subsequent semi-structured interviews, collected in an NGO operating in Southeast Asia. The thematic analysis shows that users relate to platformized GenAI in three distinct but related ways: (1) as a happy helper to organize and systematize knowledge and information; (2) as a creative tool to generate ideas; and (3) as a conversation partner for personal and life-related matters. In conclusion, we discuss the findings critically in relation to overall platform dynamics and the notion of systems ‘speaking back’ and further suggest that future research should aim to bring the two research fields of datafication and user studies even closer together.

Algorithmic experiences of Netflix’s users in the Arab world: Implications for agency and social practice

Netflix has significantly reshaped the global production, distribution, and consumption of audiovisual content. While Netflix claims its algorithm-driven platform provides superior services and limitless choices, it raises concerns about human agency, autonomy, and data justice. These concerns are especially pressing in the Global South, where predatory data extraction practices are prevalent. Research on this issue faces challenges, including a dichotomy between algorithmic power and human agency, limited exploration of user perspectives, and a lack of studies in non-Western contexts. This paper addresses these gaps using a socio-constructivist lens, centering users’ experiences in understanding algorithms as sociotechnical systems. Through reflexive in-depth interviews, it examines Netflix users in Egypt, UAE, Morocco, and Jordan. Drawing on Domestication Theory and a relational view of agency, it explores how users engage with, interpret, and resist algorithmic impacts. The paper argues that while users interact with these systems, their engagement is shaped by asymmetrical power, where algorithms control the parameters of user agency. It highlights the often-overlooked relational nature of agency, co-constructed through everyday interactions with these systems.

Describing the Framework for AI Tool Assessment in Mental Health and Applying It to a Generative AI Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Platform: Tutorial.

As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies occupy a bigger role in psychiatric and psychological care and become the object of increased research attention, industry investment, and public scrutiny, tools for evaluating their clinical, ethical, and user-centricity standards have become essential. In this paper, we first review the history of rating systems used to evaluate AI mental health interventions. We then describe the recently introduced Framework for AI Tool Assessment in Mental Health (FAITA-Mental Health), whose scoring system allows users to grade AI mental health platforms on key domains, including credibility, user experience, crisis management, user agency, health equity, and transparency. Finally, we demonstrate the use of FAITA-Mental Health scale by systematically applying it to OCD Coach, a generative AI tool readily available on the ChatGPT store and designed to help manage the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The results offer insights into the utility and limitations of FAITA-Mental Health when applied to "real-world" generative AI platforms in the mental health space, suggesting that the framework effectively identifies key strengths and gaps in AI-driven mental health tools, particularly in areas such as credibility, user experience, and acute crisis management. The results also highlight the need for stringent standards to guide AI integration into mental health care in a manner that is not only effective but also safe and protective of the users' rights and welfare.

AI robots pioneer the Smarter Inclusive Society

This paper outlines a project aimed at realizing a “Smarter Inclusive Society” by 2050 through the integration of AI robots into various public facilities. Led by the Cabinet Office’s “Moonshot Research and Development Program,” the project focuses on developing Adaptable AI-enabled Robots that enhance self-efficacy by supporting users’ abilities while maintaining their sense of independence. Key to the project is the Robotic Nimbus, a soft and flexible robot designed to provide tailored assistance while preserving user agency. The concept of “Adaptable AI-enabled Robots” is introduced to ensure versatility in accommodating user needs and preferences. In addition to physical assistance, the project emphasizes creating engaging experiences through activities like dance and sports, fostering excitement and inclusivity. Collaborations, such as the “Yes We Dance!” performance, demonstrate the potential of AI technology in enhancing rehabilitation opportunities and promoting social participation. By 2050, the project aims to establish a society where AI robots contribute to mental, physical, and social wellbeing, empowering individuals to engage in independent activities and fostering a vibrant, inclusive community. This paper is a compilation of articles/papers/presentations previously presented on the Moonshot Hirata project.

Updating a Code for Teaching Ethical Visualizations

The prevalent paradigm for understanding what constitutes a ‘good’ data visualization, and what we are likely teaching business students, relates to a conventional wisdom of efficiency, clarity, transparency, and faithful representation of truth. Teaching about the ethics of visualizations seems to be largely absent from business school curricula. This paper suggests that business students who make and use visualizations should be taught to use a code of ethics for visualizations based not only on conventional wisdom, but also on ideas from the Machine Learning/AI and ‘ethical visualizations’ communities. Elaborating on Sheppard’s code, the code suggested here incorporates ideas about bias, transparency, user agency, and privacy. Ethical awareness and practice become even more important as more data collection, processing, and visualization is shifted to Machine Learning and Generative AI. A threshold model is adapted to understand when visualization decisions require more scrutiny. Ideas from the code and the threshold model are used to analyze choices made by the CDC’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Team for an early pandemic visualization that circulated widely beyond the initial report in which it appeared. This and other examples underscore the need for business professionals to consider their visualizations from the perspective of the code.

All click and no play? Game comics, comic games, and user agency

ABSTRACT This contribution examines game-like digital comics, departing from Daniel Merlin Goodbrey’s concept of “game comics” that he discusses in his doctoral dissertation and in following articles (2017, 2020). Game comics, as the name suggests, would be interactive, playful comics, closely related to video games. In Goodbrey’s words, they are “a type of hypercomic that presents some of the key features of a game and uses some of the key features of the comic form as the basis for its gameplay” (2020, p. 45, "Game comics: Theory and design"). Firstly, the article defines comics, establishing a new taxonomy of digital comics (distinguishing between “homothetic,” “linked,” and “expanded”) and positioning game comics as belonging to digital ones, yet as much more fluid objects than Goodbrey’s. Secondly, it reframes the concept of interactivity within a novel framework, envisioning four types of user agency (narrative, interpretive, material, and social) that a semiotic text encourages or hinders. Lastly, it discusses a selection of game comics and reconsiders the relation the concept bears to that ofcomic games (Backe, 2020, "Game-comics and comic-games") – video games remediating comics’ affordances, seen as game comics’ hypothetical reverse. In interrogating the specifics of these objects and reflecting on the different types of user agency they prompt, the article concludes that the space between comics and games is fuzzier than taxonomies considering media in isolation would suggest.

Agenda Setting Theory in The Age of Digital Media: An Analytical Perspective

This paper explores agenda-setting theory within digital media. It aims to evaluate changes in these paradigms due to digital platforms and their impact on mass communication theories. The discussion includes a historical overview of agenda-setting theory, grounded in foundational works and expanded by contemporary insights on user agency and information dissemination in the digital age. Using qualitative methods, the study incorporates thematic analysis, content analysis, and interviews with media professionals and users to collect comprehensive data. Key findings indicate that the traditional linear flow of information from media to the public has shifted to a multidirectional exchange influenced by user-generated content and social media dynamics. The study emphasizes the need for scholars to adapt traditional media theories to the participatory nature of modern platforms. This research enhances understanding of current media ecosystems and lays the groundwork for future studies on media influence in complex digital environments.

Willingness to Share Debunking Information on Social Media — An Exploration of Influencing Factors from the Perspective of Media Affordance Theory

With the rapid advancement of technology, social media platforms have become crucial channels for the dissemination of refutation information. This study investigates the underlying mechanisms through which media affordances influence users' willingness to share such information, adopting a technological perspective. The aim is to understand how the affordances provided by media platforms enhance the effectiveness of refutation efforts, enabling better utilization of these technological means. Building on the theoretical frameworks of media affordance and the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model, this research develops a model to examine social media users' willingness to share refutation information. Through a survey, 308 valid questionnaires were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results reveal that media flexibility, user agency, emotional expressiveness, social connectivity, and 24/7 push notifications—representing five key dimensions of social media platforms—significantly and positively impact users' perceptions of refutation information and their willingness to share it.

Designing audio processing strategies to enhance cochlear implant users' music enjoyment

Cochlear implants (CIs) provide hundreds of thousands of users with increased access to sound, particularly speech, but experiences of music are more varied. Can greater engagement by CI users in the music mixing process mutually benefit them as well as audio engineers? This paper presents an exploratory mixed-methods study that leverages insights from CI users and professional audio engineers (AEs) in the investigation of techniques to enhance CI user music enjoyment and promote empathetic practices in AEs. Analysis of data collected over a multi-step process of surveys, interviews, and iterative cycles of sound mixing and feedback revealed two mixing strategies—namely essentializing and exaggeration of musical elements—common among mixes preferred by CI users. Participant responses also highlighted systemic ableism and audism in the music industry—an industry from which CI users report feeling excluded. Specifically, AEs felt inadequately trained around aural diversity considerations and experienced anxiety around their own aural diversity. In sum, this work contributes to insights into CI user music listening preferences; how AEs approach mixing for an aurally diverse audience; and discussion around the efficacy of CI simulation, user feedback, and AE peer feedback on mix enjoyment by CI users. Based on these findings, we offer several design insights that emphasize the need for customizable music listening tools centered around user agency and enjoyment.

Participatory backcasting towards desirable co-produced mobility futures: A case study of MaaS in Greater Manchester

Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) has emerged as a model supported by popular discourse on achieving greener, more efficient and equitable future mobility. While technological change is a primary driver for models of development, the policy pathways, implementation and implications of MaaS are complex and unclear. In this paper, we explore the implications and limitations of a participatory approach to co-produced MaaS futures in Greater Manchester (GM). We adapt a backcasting methodology involving two stakeholder workshops to develop shared future visions and action pathways. Our methodology includes a participatory approach to pluralistic vision development and the use of a Three Horizons method for backcasting. This approach provides the opportunity to explore multiple desirable futures and the formulation of action pathways without negating plausible future possibilities. The research identifies multiple policy and collaborative action areas while also revealing limitations in MaaS user agency and unaddressed sustainability concerns related to wider Smart City criticisms. Findings also suggest a lack of adequate theory within current MaaS frameworks to engage with uncertainty, change and adaptive capacity. Future areas of research include the expansion of current frameworks to incorporate alternative framings from planning and complexity theories already attempting to address these dimensions of futures.

Four provocations for rich digital ethnographic research situated in social media networks

ABSTRACT Scholars engaging in social media research involving direct observation of users draw from a range of research methods, each with their own benefits and challenges. From an ethical perspective, research that engages with direct observation of user experiences and practices on these platforms exposes the investigator to a range of content which may have been intended for a private or semi-public audience, further complicating already debated ethical positions into what is considered ‘public’ content. This paper presents four provocations from a digital ethnography into user agency and practices on these platforms to demonstrate how direct observation methods can be practically implemented to ensure an ethical approach to data collection. It highlights how the distribution principle of contextual integrity can be used to guide the development of collection methods where content from participant’s networked connections is unavoidable, and where informed consent is unfeasible to obtain from these social media users.

Digital Archives as Resisting Displacement

Abstract Amid wider concern about the emergence of vast data archives that document and instrumentalize everyday user activities for the purpose of marketing, research, and governance, this article turns to a series of creative and activist initiatives that preserve heterodox internet histories. Though a focus on three case studies—artistic engagements with GeoCities, traces left by Indymedia in contemporary activism, and emerging ethical frameworks for reusing social media data—the article examines the political and ethical significance of attempts to archive specific instances of participatory online cultures before these cultures disappear. Drawing from and advancing Jodi Dean's conception of displaced mediators, or entities that set in motion the forces that ultimately displace them, the article argues that the significance of these digital archives is in their capacity to resist linear, commercial logics of displacement that attempt to narrow user agency. Instead, the article argues, creative and activist engagements with digital archives generate questions about whether the infrastructures that govern everyday online interactions could be otherwise, through showing how they formerly have been otherwise.

Understanding contextual expectations for sharing wearables' data: Insights from a vignette study

People are increasingly open to sharing personal data collected by wearables, while concerns have emerged on how companies, governments and organisations process this data. This paper applies Nissenbaum's theory of contextual integrity to explore the perceived appropriateness of information flows linked to wearables. A vignette study was conducted (N = 500) to examine the influence of the type of data shared, its purpose, and the sender, on the appropriateness of different wearables' information flow scenarios. Results revealed a significant impact of information type, sharing purpose, and sender on the perceived appropriateness of data sharing. Notably, data collected for research purposes or to develop new functionalities was deemed most appropriate, while data used for advertising was viewed unfavourably. Further, the user-controlled sharing received higher appropriateness ratings. This research underscores the need for meaningful consent in data sharing and suggests that manufacturers of wearable devices should utilise user agency to supplement information flow automation based on societal and contextual privacy norms.

How do social media users and journalists express concerns about social media misinformation? A computational analysis

This article describes partisan-based, accuracy-based, and action-based discussions through which U.S. social media users and journalists express concerns about social media misinformation. While platform policy stands out as the most highly discussed topic by both social media users and journalists, much of it is cast through a party politics lens. The findings call for shifting the news frame around misinformation for collective problem-solving. At the same time, discussions about user agency are more prevalent on social media than in news, offering hope for platforms and educators to empower social media users to engage in discussions and actions about addressing misinformation.

Data localization as contested and narrated security in the age of digital sovereignty: the case of Switzerland

ABSTRACT The construction and effects on national boundaries have become central topics in public and academic debates on digital sovereignty. Both state and non-state actors increasingly consider jurisdictions and traditional governing structures as means to capture and regulate digital data flows. This article delves into the intricate phenomenon of ‘data localization’, conceptualizing it as a socio-technical assemblage reflecting the evolving expectations surrounding Internet architecture and national boundaries. Interviewing the users of Threema – a Swiss secure messaging app – this study unravels data localization practices as a hybrid black box, intertwining technical changes, political discourses, socio-technical imaginaries, and shifting social norms. Drawing on the field of Science and Technology Studies, we mobilize the analytical tools of controversy and discourse to highlight data localization as a locus of political contestation in Switzerland, where imaginaries of national boundaries are often mobilized to symbolize security and reliability. The article provides three key contributions to the discourse on digital sovereignty, fragmentation, and governance. Firstly, it argues for the usefulness of Science and Technology Studies in understanding Internet governance, emphasizing the need for analyses grounded in specific socio-technical contexts. Secondly, it advocates for a social perspective on digital sovereignty, emphasizing user agency, social movements, and collective action as crucial factors shaping the governance of data flows. Lastly, the article sheds light on users resorting to state jurisdictions as a means to reinforce control over data flows, exploring the discursive mobilization of national boundaries in the digital public sphere.

Contesting personalized recommender systems: a cross-country analysis of user preferences

ABSTRACT Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube wield substantial influence over digital information flows using sophisticated algorithmic recommender systems (RS). As these systems curate personalized content, concerns have emerged about their propensity to amplify polarizing or inappropriate content, spread misinformation, and infringe on users’ privacy. To address these concerns, the European Union (EU) has recently introduced a new regulatory framework through the Digital Services Act (DSA). These proposed policies are designed to bolster user agency by offering contestability mechanisms against personalized RS. As their effectiveness ultimately requires individual users to take specific actions, this empirical study investigates users’ intention to contest personalized RS. The results of a pre-registered survey across six countries – Brazil, Germany, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and the USA – involving 6,217 respondents yield key insights: (1) Approximately 20% of users would opt out of using personalized RS, (2) the intention for algorithmic contestation is associated with individual characteristics such as users’ attitudes towards and awareness of personalized RS as well as their privacy concerns, (3) German respondents are particularly inclined to contest personalized RS. We conclude that amending Art. 38 of the DSA may contribute to leveraging its effectiveness in fostering accessible user contestation and algorithmic transparency.

Envisioning User Agency During Development of a Website for Natural Hazard Communication

This study describes the pathways by which prospective users of a website for natural hazard communication experienced agency as user-centered design (UCD) participants. Formative interviews with residents, community managers, and outreach professionals revealed two pathways for agency during the design process—by directly influencing design changes and by indirectly affecting developers’ understanding of user needs—and previewed users’ potential agency during real-world use. Findings reveal how agential opportunities were constrained by UCD structure and choices of the development team. The authors discuss how supporting user agency during UCD can improve design and support buy-in for humanistic methods in interdisciplinary research teams.

Conferencing together in social virtual reality: Bringing agency back into affordances-based approaches in communication scholarship

Technological advancements allow embodied and synchronous communication via social virtual reality (VR), where multiple users interact as avatars in a shared virtual space. However, the affordances of social VR and how users interact with them have been underexplored. We expand the discourse on media affordances by emphasizing user agency in strategic media choices for overcoming constraints in physical and virtual worlds. We qualitatively investigated user experiences of a social VR platform. Findings from semi-structured interviews (N = 28) revealed that media selection is determined through a dynamic relationship between platforms designed to encourage action possibilities and users strategically leveraging media affordances to overcome situational constraints of their physical environment.

“I Want to Send a Message to My Friend”: Exploring the Shift of Agency to Older Adults in HRI

Communication among some older adults is affected by cognitive and mobility impairments. This increases isolation, particularly for those residing in care homes, and leads to accelerated cognitive decline. Previous research has leveraged assistive robots to promote recreational routines and communication among older adults, with the robot leading the interaction. However, older adults could have more agency in the interaction, as robots could extend elders’ intentions and needs. Therefore, we explored an approach whereby the robot’s agency is shifted to the older adults who lead the interaction by commanding a robot’s actions using interactive physical blocks (tangible blocks). We conducted sessions with 22 care home dwellers where they could exchange messages and objects using the robot. Based on older adults’ observed behaviors during the sessions and perspectives gathered from interviews with geriatric professionals, we reflect on the opportunities and challenges for increased user agency and the asymmetries that emerged from differing abilities and personality traits. Our qualitative results highlight the potential of robotic approaches to extend the agency and communication of older adults, anchored on human values, such as the exchange of affection, collaboration, and competition.