Into the Driver’s Seat With Social Media Content Feeds

RIVA illustrated a research sponsored by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University examining how social-media platforms fundamentally rely on algorithmic content feeds—much like cars rely on engines and brakes—to shape what we see online.

RIVA illustrated a research by Laura Edelson, Frances Haugen & Damon McCoy    sponsored by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University examining how social-media platforms fundamentally rely on algorithmic content feeds—much like cars rely on engines and brakes—to shape what we see online.

We used a vehicle metaphor to explain how feed algorithms are structured (inventory-selection, ranking, and assembly) and how design decisions (such as maximizing user attention, personalization, novelty, or speed) influence outcomes for users and society. One key finding: while these algorithms enable engagement and discovery, they also introduce risks—addictive scrolling experiences, filter bubbles, and lack of transparency. Without consistent frameworks to evaluate feed algorithms (akin to crash tests for cars), users, policymakers, and researchers remain at a disadvantage.

Read the article here

The Knight First Amendment Institute defends the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age through strategic litigation, research, policy advocacy, and public education.

The Knight First Amendment Institute, part of the Columbia University, has the aim to promote a system of free expression that is open and inclusive, that broadens and elevates public discourse, and that fosters creativity, accountability, and effective self-government.