Lonely algorithms
A longitudinal investigation into the bidirectional relationship between algorithm responsiveness and loneliness
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2934747 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Samuel Hardman Taylor (0000-0002-1014-4513, University of Illinois Chicago, corresponding author), M Choi (0000-0002-9947-5035, Sejong University) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 1253-1278 |
| Publication date | 2024-05-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Social and Personal Relationships (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0265-4075 • E-ISSN: 1460-3608 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/02654075231156623 |
| OpenAlex | W4322008687 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 47 |
This research project addresses the role algorithms play in curating meaningful social connections on social media by examining perceived algorithm responsiveness (PAR) and perceived algorithm insensitivity (PAI) within the framework of the bidirectional model of social internet use and loneliness. In study 1, a cross-sectional survey found that PAR and PAI on Instagram are both associated with loneliness, and that the association for PAR depends upon age. In study 2, a 3-wave longitudinal survey replicates these associations. Online relational maintenance behaviors explained the negative relationship between PAR and loneliness but not the positive relationship for PAI and loneliness. Loneliness at wave t -1 predicted perceptions of algorithm responsiveness at wave t but not vice versa. This research contributes to social media uses and effects by theorizing and empirically testing the connection of algorithms with loneliness, finding that perceptions of social media algorithms are associated with perceived social isolation
Algorithm · Loneliness · Perception · Social isolation · Social media · World Wide Web · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Computer Science · Digital Mental Health Interventions · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Psychology · Social Psychology
The Dynamic and Reciprocal Relationship Between Problematic Internet Use and Loneliness
When the Algorithm Understands You (or Doesn’t)
It Listens to Me So I Feel Well and Connected
The lonely algorithm problem
Can humans feel connected to AI? Perceived responsiveness drives social connection with AI chatbots
Is my partner watching thirst traps? Associations between perceptions of a partner’s TikTok alternatives and relationship quality
Lonely algorithms
Who's Viewing My Post? Extending the Imagined Audience Process Model Toward Affordances and Self-Disclosure Goals on Social Media
Advances In Experimental Social Psychology
For You, or For"You"?
Loneliness in the Modern Age
Age Differences in Online Social Networking
The Relevance of Algorithms
First I "like" it, then I hide it
Toward an Integrated and Differential Approach to the Relationships Between Loneliness, Different Types of Facebook Use, and Adolescents’ Depressed Mood
Social Media Elements, Ecologies, and Effects
Teenagers, screens and social media
Responsiveness
Loneliness and Social Internet Use
Ucla Loneliness Scale (Version 3)
Revisiting Media Multiplexity
An Experiment on the Effects of Self-disclosure on Perceived Partner Responsiveness and Intimacy in Zero-Acquaintance Relationships
Networked Maintenance
The algorithmic imaginary
Absence Makes the Communication Grow Fonder
Computer-Mediated Communication, Social Media, and Mental Health
Development and Validation of an Algorithm Literacy Scale for Internet Users
The associations of active and passive social media use with well-being
Emotional Support from AI Chatbots
Rise of Machine Agency
Why We Don’t Click
Does Facebook-enabled communication influence weak-tie relationships over time? A longitudinal investigation into mediated relationship maintenance
Less in-person social interaction with peers among U.S. adolescents in the 21st century and links to loneliness
Distinguishing technologies for social interaction
Conditional Process Analysis
Mediated communication matters during the Covid-19 pandemic
Lonely algorithms
An Initial Conceptualization of Algorithm Responsiveness
Why's Everyone on TikTok Now? The Algorithmized Self and the Future of Self-Making on Social Media
Does Partner Responsiveness Predict Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-being? A 10-Year Longitudinal Study
| Citations per year | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |