Let's talk about...
Algorithms
Algorithms
This resource was created by Jennifer LaGarde and Darren Hudgins
st - let's talk about social media
How would you describe social media to someone who had never heard of it?
Pause video here to discuss
Social media is...
a place to get information. a place to connect with other people. a place to share information. a place to debate issues.
We tend to think of social media in terms of how we use it. But the truth is, social media has a different purpose.
Social media are...
for profit companies that make money by getting us to engage with content posted on their platforms. These companies collect data about how we use their tools. Then they use that data to build better ways to get us to engage with content. This cycle is repeated over and over again.
nd - let's talk about engagement
What are some ways that you engage (or interact) with content online?
Pause video here to discuss
Engagement is when we...
LikeShare Comment Bookmark Follow
Algorithms are a set of rules (or code) that are designed to increase engagement.
rd - let's talk about algorithms
Make a prediction: how do you think algorithims are used to make us engage with content?
Pause video here to discuss
The job of the algorithm is to sort all the posts on social media into our timelines in ways that increase engagement.
Even if you and I were following all of the same people or accounts, on the same social media platform, our timelines would still look different from one another. Here's why!
Your timeline
My timeline
When we engage with content, we tell the algorithm that we want to see more of that content - even if we engage by DISLIKING something.
Algorithms score everything that is posted online - awarding points to content whenever we engage with it. The more points a post receives, the higher its score. The higher a post's score, the more often it will be seen on your timeline (and the timeline of others). This is how posts "go viral."
Engagements on social media can be weighted.
This means that posts receive a higher score in the algorithm if they trigger certain types of engagement. Let's look at an example.
Pop Quiz!
If the algorithm awards 5 points for every time someone responds with an "angry emoji" to a post, but only 2 points for every "laughing emoji" and 1 point for every "like," which of the following posts will receive a higher score and appear in more timelines?
Pause video here to discuss
What do you notice? What do you wonder?
😡 x 9🤣 x 2 👍🏻 x 6
😡 x 4 🤣 x 11 👍🏻 x 2
😡 x 1 🤣 x 3 👍🏻 x 13
Post 1
Post 3
Post 2
Total engagements:Total score:
1755
1744
1724
The ways we engage with content are often linked to emotions. Emoji responses are a common example of this.
Algorithms that score negative engagements higher than positive ones, increase our exposure to negative content and to the harmful emotions that go with it.
Algorithms can amplify harmful content.
Creators of dis- and mal- information create content that triggers strong emotional responses, because they know this will increase engagement and boost their content's score in the algorithm.
Algorithms control what we see in our timelines.
They also control what we DON'T see.
However, it's important to remember that humans (with different motivations and biases), create algorithms; which means we also have the ability to disrupt them.
Instead of pressing like, share or comment on content that triggers a strong emotional response, we must learn to press pause instead.
Disrupt the Algorithm
Before engaging with content press pause and ask yourself...
- How does this make me feel?
- Who benefits if I feel this way?
- What are they hoping I will do?
- What is the healthiest choice I can make?
- Do I really want other people to see (and engage) with this content, too?
Algorithms are...
a set of predictions, made by humans who think they know how people will react to the content they see online. It's up to us to prove those predictions wrong.
Sources for further reading:
Binder, Matt (2021, March 28). “TikTok's algorithm is sending users down a far-right extremist rabbit hole." Mashable. https://bit.ly/2ZJPsxz CBC Kids News (2021, Sept 21). Social media algorithms explained. https://bit.ly/3bClSfZ LaGarde, Jennifer and Hudgins, Darren (2021, September 28). Developing Digital Detectives. Iste.org/DigDetectives Lonas, Lexi (2021, October 26). “Facebook formula gave anger five times weight of likes, documents show." The Hill. https://bit.ly/3CEwrex Merrill, Jeremy B and Oremus, Will (2021, October 26). “Five points for anger, one for a ‘like’: How Facebook’s formula fostered rage and misinformation." The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/3CFlFVk
THE END!
This resource was created by Jennifer LaGarde and Darren Hudgins
Algorithm Presentation
Jennifer LaGarde
Created on November 3, 2021
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Practical Video
View
Akihabara Video
View
Essential Video
View
Explainer Video: Keys to Effective Communication
View
Explainer Video: AI for Companies
View
Alien invasion video
View
Space video
Explore all templates
Transcript
Let's talk about...
Algorithms
Algorithms
This resource was created by Jennifer LaGarde and Darren Hudgins
st - let's talk about social media
How would you describe social media to someone who had never heard of it?
Pause video here to discuss
Social media is...
a place to get information. a place to connect with other people. a place to share information. a place to debate issues.
We tend to think of social media in terms of how we use it. But the truth is, social media has a different purpose.
Social media are...
for profit companies that make money by getting us to engage with content posted on their platforms. These companies collect data about how we use their tools. Then they use that data to build better ways to get us to engage with content. This cycle is repeated over and over again.
nd - let's talk about engagement
What are some ways that you engage (or interact) with content online?
Pause video here to discuss
Engagement is when we...
LikeShare Comment Bookmark Follow
Algorithms are a set of rules (or code) that are designed to increase engagement.
rd - let's talk about algorithms
Make a prediction: how do you think algorithims are used to make us engage with content?
Pause video here to discuss
The job of the algorithm is to sort all the posts on social media into our timelines in ways that increase engagement.
Even if you and I were following all of the same people or accounts, on the same social media platform, our timelines would still look different from one another. Here's why!
Your timeline
My timeline
When we engage with content, we tell the algorithm that we want to see more of that content - even if we engage by DISLIKING something.
Algorithms score everything that is posted online - awarding points to content whenever we engage with it. The more points a post receives, the higher its score. The higher a post's score, the more often it will be seen on your timeline (and the timeline of others). This is how posts "go viral."
Engagements on social media can be weighted.
This means that posts receive a higher score in the algorithm if they trigger certain types of engagement. Let's look at an example.
Pop Quiz!
If the algorithm awards 5 points for every time someone responds with an "angry emoji" to a post, but only 2 points for every "laughing emoji" and 1 point for every "like," which of the following posts will receive a higher score and appear in more timelines?
Pause video here to discuss
What do you notice? What do you wonder?
😡 x 9🤣 x 2 👍🏻 x 6
😡 x 4 🤣 x 11 👍🏻 x 2
😡 x 1 🤣 x 3 👍🏻 x 13
Post 1
Post 3
Post 2
Total engagements:Total score:
1755
1744
1724
The ways we engage with content are often linked to emotions. Emoji responses are a common example of this.
Algorithms that score negative engagements higher than positive ones, increase our exposure to negative content and to the harmful emotions that go with it.
Algorithms can amplify harmful content.
Creators of dis- and mal- information create content that triggers strong emotional responses, because they know this will increase engagement and boost their content's score in the algorithm.
Algorithms control what we see in our timelines.
They also control what we DON'T see.
However, it's important to remember that humans (with different motivations and biases), create algorithms; which means we also have the ability to disrupt them.
Instead of pressing like, share or comment on content that triggers a strong emotional response, we must learn to press pause instead.
Disrupt the Algorithm
Before engaging with content press pause and ask yourself...
Algorithms are...
a set of predictions, made by humans who think they know how people will react to the content they see online. It's up to us to prove those predictions wrong.
Sources for further reading:
Binder, Matt (2021, March 28). “TikTok's algorithm is sending users down a far-right extremist rabbit hole." Mashable. https://bit.ly/2ZJPsxz CBC Kids News (2021, Sept 21). Social media algorithms explained. https://bit.ly/3bClSfZ LaGarde, Jennifer and Hudgins, Darren (2021, September 28). Developing Digital Detectives. Iste.org/DigDetectives Lonas, Lexi (2021, October 26). “Facebook formula gave anger five times weight of likes, documents show." The Hill. https://bit.ly/3CEwrex Merrill, Jeremy B and Oremus, Will (2021, October 26). “Five points for anger, one for a ‘like’: How Facebook’s formula fostered rage and misinformation." The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/3CFlFVk
THE END!
This resource was created by Jennifer LaGarde and Darren Hudgins