University of Twente Student Theses
Choosing ‘For You’ : Algorithmic Media Recommendations and Personal Autonomy
Wenzel, Jeremias (2025) Choosing ‘For You’ : Algorithmic Media Recommendations and Personal Autonomy.
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| Abstract: | Social media platforms have become an important source for media consumption. Billions of users access broad categories of media, ranging from entertainment to news or political engagement. These platforms often employ a media recommendation algorithm (MRA), which are crucial in determining the content users are presented with. Among these platforms, TikTok exemplifies the use of a MRA to power their content discovery platform and is chosen as the focus of this thesis. By applying relational autonomy, a field of theories that emphasize the social embeddedness of autonomy, this thesis explores how MRAs might affect user autonomy. The aim is to identify specific mechanisms through which harms might arise as a direct result of the design of the service. Three main findings regarding the impact of MRA use on personal autonomy are argued for. First, it is argued that the MRA of TikTok emphasizes non-deliberate choice regarding the media consumed, which disincentivizes autonomous choice making. Second, it is argued that procedural independence is threatened when using TikTok. The argument concludes that self-adjustment of the MRA might change a person’s critical reflection capacity regarding the amount of content they use. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 08 philosophy |
| Programme: | Philosophy of Science, Technology and Society MSc (60024) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/75258 |
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