What Is Social Steering?
Social Steering describes the subtle ways in which digital platforms steer societies by curating content tailored to user behavior. These platforms employ psychologists and behavioral scientists to understand human decision-making deeply. This expertise is applied to design algorithms that maximize user engagement, often by exploiting psychological triggers such as curiosity, fear, or validation.
Algorithms analyze data from online interactions to predict individual preferences, including political beliefs, and use this information to shape the content presented to users.
While this may seem innocuous, the implications are far-reaching. Platforms can nudge behaviors, amplify certain viewpoints, and even affect democratic processes. For instance, studies have shown that these algorithms can increase or decrease voter turnout by altering what users see in their feeds, potentially swaying the outcomes of elections or referenda.
The effects of Social Steering are not confined to any single group. Regardless of political beliefs or affiliations, everyone is susceptible to the ways these systems influence perceptions and decisions. This makes addressing the issue not just a matter of individual awareness but a societal priority.
Importantly, many of these outcomes are unintentional. Algorithms prioritize engagement, often promoting sensational or polarizing content to keep users on the platform longer. This can lead to the spread of disinformation, deepen social divides, and undermine trust in democratic institutions.
Why It Matters
- Public Discourse: The shaping of information streams can polarize debates and fragment societies.
- Collective Behavior: The prioritization of certain types of content affects how communities act and think.
- Democratic Integrity: Platforms' ability to predict political beliefs and influence voter turnout means they can unintentionally or intentionally sway election results.
- Disinformation: Algorithms can amplify false or misleading content, making it harder for societies to discern truth and weakening the shared basis for decision-making.
What Can Be Done?
- Learn: Explore studies and reports to understand the societal impacts of Social Steering.
- Share: Raise awareness by sharing this page and discussing these issues with your community.
- Demand Transparency: Advocate for policies that ensure accountability and fairness in digital platforms. Contact your local representatives (MPs in the UK, Congress members in the US, or relevant officials in your country) to voice your concerns and push for action.
Further Reading
Research Studies
- Digital Records Could Expose Intimate Details and Personality Traits of Millions - Cambridge researchers used Facebook Likes to create models that were 88% accurate in determining male sexuality, 95% in distinguishing African-American from Caucasian, 85% in differentiating Republican from Democrat, and 82% in identifying Christians versus Muslims. These models also predicted relationship status and substance use with 65-73% accuracy.
- Facebook's 61-Million-Person Experiment on Social Influence and Political Mobilization - A large-scale study showing how social messaging on Facebook influenced voter turnout by leveraging users' social networks during the 2010 U.S. elections.
- Social Media Profiling for Political Affiliation Detection - A study demonstrating how machine learning models can predict users' political affiliations based on their online activity and language use with high accuracy.
- The Spread of False News Online - A study revealing that false news travels significantly faster, deeper, and more broadly than truthful content on social platforms, driven primarily by user interactions rather than bots.
Revision Log
- 2024-12-30: First revision - initial content creation and structure finalized.