"Domesticating" The Algorithm: A Study Of Young People’s Behavior In Response To Intelligent Recommendations

The intelligent media technology represented by algorithm recommendation is profoundly affecting people’s information life.The algorithms that people come into contact with daily provide personalized information services based on user data.While technology brings convenience,it also brings about the problems of information overload and privacy leakage.The fragmentation and pan-entertainment of the platform aggravate the mental consumption of users.Under the risk of algorithm alienation,voices of resistance to algorithms and calls for "domestication" of algorithms have begun to appear in social media,and subtle changes are taking place in the relationship between humans and machines in the environment of intelligent media.This study adopts the qualitative research methods of in-depth interviews and participatory observation,guided by domestication theory,to explore how users of Douyin as an example of algorithm users respond to the algorithm in an intelligent media environment,and what kind of domestication relationship is reflected.Through the three-level coding,five acclimation stages of "Technical imagination","Full-effect embedding","Spatial digitization","Agenda mediation" and "Human-machine co-creation" are obtained,expressing from different perspectives that users are building a human-machine balance relationship on the meaning.From this,it is found that domestication in the environment of intelligent media is a nonlinear multi-dimensional model,and users are in a cycle of “use-discard-reuse” domestication.Although users show a certain "cynicism" inclination,the "people-oriented" domestication stance brings the human-machine relationship in the evolution of the media to the direction of dynamic balance.This research innovatively places domestication theory in the intelligent media environment of algorithm recommendation,explores the behavior of Douyin users’ domesticating algorithm from different stages,expands the field of user subjectivity in algorithm research issues,and enriches the domestic intelligence of domestication theory.Media Studies.The research inspires users to think about self-transformation as a practical subject in the evolution of media,and advocates technology-related departments to formulate more scientific and effective technology communication strategies,so that users and technology can find a more harmonious way of getting along in intelligent communication.