{"title":"When the Algorithm Understands You (or Doesn’t): LGBTQ+ Youth’s Identity-Related Interactions with Algorithmic Media","authors":"Y. Anthony Chen, Samuel Hardman Taylor","doi":"10.1177/00936502261459750","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"During their daily media use, youth interact with algorithms. Drawing on the algorithm responsiveness process framework, this paper examines the co-construction of identity between youth and algorithmic media, focusing on perceived algorithm responsiveness (PAR), perceived algorithm insensitivity (PAI), and algorithm training as sociotechnical processes that structure how LGBTQ+ youth perceive themselves. Study 1 ( <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">N</jats:italic> = 335), using six weekly diaries among LGBTQ+ youth, showed that affirming LGBTQ+ representations curated by algorithms predicted higher PAR and lower PAI, especially when less algorithm training was needed. In turn, higher PAR and, unexpectedly, higher PAI predicted greater identity pride. Study 2 ( <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">N</jats:italic> = 664), a cross-sectional survey, found that LGBTQ+ youth reported lower PAR than non-LGBTQ+ youth. An indirect effect of algorithm training on self-concept clarity via PAR emerged for non-LGBTQ+ participants but not for LGBTQ+ participants. These findings highlight social identity in algorithmic media as a relational, dynamic process, and LGBTQ+ youth can shape content recommendations for identity-related needs.","PeriodicalId":48323,"journal":{"name":"Communication Research","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.9000,"publicationDate":"2026-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Communication Research","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502261459750","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"COMMUNICATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
During their daily media use, youth interact with algorithms. Drawing on the algorithm responsiveness process framework, this paper examines the co-construction of identity between youth and algorithmic media, focusing on perceived algorithm responsiveness (PAR), perceived algorithm insensitivity (PAI), and algorithm training as sociotechnical processes that structure how LGBTQ+ youth perceive themselves. Study 1 ( N = 335), using six weekly diaries among LGBTQ+ youth, showed that affirming LGBTQ+ representations curated by algorithms predicted higher PAR and lower PAI, especially when less algorithm training was needed. In turn, higher PAR and, unexpectedly, higher PAI predicted greater identity pride. Study 2 ( N = 664), a cross-sectional survey, found that LGBTQ+ youth reported lower PAR than non-LGBTQ+ youth. An indirect effect of algorithm training on self-concept clarity via PAR emerged for non-LGBTQ+ participants but not for LGBTQ+ participants. These findings highlight social identity in algorithmic media as a relational, dynamic process, and LGBTQ+ youth can shape content recommendations for identity-related needs.
期刊介绍:
Empirical research in communication began in the 20th century, and there are more researchers pursuing answers to communication questions today than at any other time. The editorial goal of Communication Research is to offer a special opportunity for reflection and change in the new millennium. To qualify for publication, research should, first, be explicitly tied to some form of communication; second, be theoretically driven with results that inform theory; third, use the most rigorous empirical methods; and fourth, be directly linked to the most important problems and issues facing humankind. Critieria do not privilege any particular context; indeed, we believe that the key problems facing humankind occur in close relationships, groups, organiations, and cultures.