Theme 2

The impact of social networks

Social media platforms allow people to socialize with others who share similar interests. That’s the promise. They’ve been around since the beginning of networked computing (Usenet in the 80s, BBS in the 90s) and have spanned several epochs of its history. One example is the Eternal September 1993, when the Internet provider AOL began offering access to Usenet to its consumers: existing small communities of amateurs and experienced users began to see the arrival of large groups of new users, noisy and poorly educated in Internet etiquette. But the big boom came in the mid-2000s, with the arrival of Facebook and its followers. A very large number of people, with very low-cost and almost stable Internet access, can stay connected to these platforms, several times a day, and share their thoughts. Usages are changing. Since then, new platforms have appeared regularly, trying to capture new audiences, with some side effects that raise questions.

1. The principle of these platforms is based on a regular, even continuous, connection of users. What impact could this have on the mental health of young people (and those not so young)?

2. These platforms are regularly accused of having the effect of amplifying disinformation, propaganda and compositional theories. What about it?

3. “If it’s free, you are the product.” This slogan questions the business model of these platforms. What are you selling about yourself?

4. These new forms of communication are accompanied by new codes of use, even new codes of writing. Is it for better or for worse? Aren’t we losing something precious?

Documentation

• About risky behaviors

  1. Prichard et al. No likes, no problem? Users’ reactions to the removal of Instagram number of likes on other people’s posts and links to body image. Body Image 2021

  2. Sharma et al. The Dark at the End of the Tunnel: Doomscrolling on Social Media Newsfeeds. Technology Mind and Behavior 2022.

  3. Ebert et al. Creative beyond TikToks: Investigating Adolescents’ Social Privacy Management on TikTok. PoPET 2023

• On fake news & amplification

  1. Allcott et al. The effects of Facebook and Instagram on the 2020 election: A deactivation experiment. PNAS 2024

  2. M. Valin. Deepfakes: la guerre des algorithmes. Epsiloon 2024

  3. Nyhan et al. Like-minded sources on Facebook are prevalent but not polarizing Nature 2023

  4. Bouchaud et al. Crowdsourced audit of Twitter’s recommender systems. Scientific Reports 2023

  5. Ceylan et al. Sharing of misinformation is habitual, not just lazy or biased. National Academy of Sciences 2023

• On the business on personal data & privacy

  1. R. Lakshmanan. E.U. Court Limits Meta’s Use of Personal Facebook Data for Targeted Ads. The Hacker News 2024

  2. Chen et al. How does ad relevance affect consumers’ attitudes toward personalized advertisements and social media platforms? The role of information co-ownership, vulnerability, and privacy cynicism. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 2023

  3. S. ZafarFebruary Data Collected by Social Media Platforms and how they Use it (Ultimate List) Data Fifty 2022

  4. Graham et al. A computational analysis of potential algorithmic bias on platform X during the 2024 US election. QUT 2024

• On writing and communicating skills

  1. A.B. Nuri. The Impact of Social Networks on Language Learning: A Comprehensive Analysis. Journal of Linguistics and Language Education 2024

  2. Goumi et al. 2 B kreativ’ or not to be creative: Textisms and texters’ creativity. Applied Psychology 2019

  3. Reynolds et al. I’m Never Happy with What I Write: Challenges and strategies of people with dyslexia on social media. AAAI 2018

Tips for fast & efficient reading

The documentation on offer can be extensive, long and complex. Don’t panic. We can’t hope to have time and expertize to examine each article in detail during the session.

The body of a scientific article is made up of arguments, demonstrations and proofs, which is mandatory for other scientists, but perhaps not for the general public. This is why an Abstract is provided. It gives a general idea of the subject and the findings. That’s enough for a first reading level. (A second reading level will focus on the Introduction and Conclusion sections. And a third will delve into the body of the article.)

So, organize your reading time to cover the diversity of documents, without trying to go into too much detail in each one.