Credits: Social Media
TikTok and social media algorithms ‘distort and change’ comment sections, tech experts explain
Global social media statistics are quite astounding. Almost two-thirds of the worlds population use one or other of the plethora of social media sites available to Internet users in 2024. Just 1 in 20 Internet users dont use it. But how well do we know the algorithms that govern the time we spend on social media sites such as TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, right down to the comments that we see on the videos we watch?
Research has shown watching TikTok videos for just 10 minutes can have a negative impact on young womens self-image. Elsewhere, researchers analyzed 65,000 health and nutrition-based TikTok hacks and guides, and found just 2.1% were grounded in accurate information. 2.1%! The Focus turned its attention to the way different comments show up for separate users on platforms like TikTok. We spoke to Sabina Brdnik, a marketing specialist from Sweden, who highlighted that strong emotional responses are central to social media websites game plans. And to Jake Holyoak, founder of digital PR campaign firm One March, who asks at what cost these companies keep us engaged.
TikTok’s algorithms primary goal is to keep you engaged for longer
To start from the beginning, says Swedish tech expert Sabina Brdnik, social media algorithms are designed to maximize user engagement. She works for Lund-based technology consultancy tretton37.
Companies like Meta and ByteDance analyze user behavior, preferences, and interactions to curate personalized content to make you stay on their respective platforms as long as possible.
Search engine optimization (SEO) and PR expert Jake Holyoak echoes this point: Ive spent years digging into how search algorithms work,[&] so I can tell you firsthand that social media algorithms are a different beast [compared with Google] but share the same goal: keeping you engaged.
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Its common knowledge that this makes for personalized social media feeds. But it may not be so well known that algorithms also dictate the comments that we come across on videos on platforms like TikTok or Instagram.
Neither Brdnik nor Holyoak is in any doubt that comment sections are personalized curated for the purpose of eliciting some sort of reaction. Positive or negative, reactions keep us engaged, which is a win for the company selling your attention to advertisers.
Brdnik says algorithms prioritize content likely to resonate with each individual, which in turn cultivates echo chambers, reinforcing existing beliefs and potentially increasing polarization.
Comments that gain traction quickly can seem more popular than they actually are, says Holyoak. This is thanks to a heating up/cooling down mechanism.
Theyre bumped to the top based on the assumption that they will become popular overall comments. But after a few hours or days, when the thread settles down, they reach their actual tally. This skews users perceptions of whats popular and whats not.
Which, in Holyoaks words, can mess with us.
It creates these little echo chambers where were only exposed to views that reinforce what we already think.” Or what a minority thinks is important. “This might be great for keeping us hooked, but it can lead to a more divided and distorted view of reality.
Comments are ruled by people too
Meanwhile, on Reddit, they have a voting system, where users can up or downvote comments and posts. While users have the choice to either show posts chronologically or through popularity, it means the top comments on threads will be dictated by this voting system.
It offers another solution to the comment section. Although, it doesn’t mean it reflects the community as a whole in those particular subreddits, or society. It will be a case of whoever is online and read that post and responded to it.
Older threads that still get traction, or are found via Google search years later, will still reflect the votes casted, and unless users interact with them further down the line, the votes may be outdated because of this.
‘It isn’t great for society as a whole’
The purpose of algorithms is to keep us engaged. One way of looking at this is to give social media companies the benefit of the doubt and assume theyre curating our feeds and comments from a position of altruism. Engagement can equal entertainment, after all.
But theres another side to the story. The purpose of engagement from the companies shareholders perspective is to generate ad revenue. More ads mean more revenue. Increasing revenue means increasing payouts for capitalists.
But at what cost? Holyoak asks. The more these algorithms cater to our emotions, the less likely we are to see diverse perspectives, which isnt great for society as a whole.
Brdnik adds that showing specific comments can skew users’ perceptions of public opinion, reinforce biases, and limit exposure to diverse perspectives. This may, in turn, contribute to social division and misunderstanding in real-world interactions.
To address these issues, shed like to see greater transparency. Shed like users to have more control over their content feeds.
Users, in turn, should actively seek out diverse viewpoints and be aware of how algorithms shape their online experience, even though this is usually not something that is in our human nature.
We seek like-minded people that complement our views, ethics, and beliefs. And not so many are open to contradictory [ideas] when it comes to that.
In other words, the onus is on you on us to stay level-headed.
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