Supervisor: Fan Liang, Assistant Professor of Media, Division of Social Sciences
Project Description: Drawing on social imaginary literature and reactivity theory, this project aims to explore how Chinese content creators experience and make sense of algorithms, and what are the consequences of these imaginaries and interactions. Recently, Chinese video-sharing platforms like Douyin and Kuaishou have emerged as one of the most important means of producing and disseminating cultural products. However, these platforms rely largely on algorithms to filter and curate content, and the emphasis on personalization and selection has a substantial impact on how cultural creators generate and adjust video content. We plan to conduct interviews with 20 creators and use the walkthrough method to address how cultural creators think about what algorithms are and how algorithms function.
Earlier this year the team’s extended proposal submitted to the 72nd Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference was successfully accepted. Yujia Zhai, the student researcher in this project, delivered a public presentation on behalf of the team in May online.
