The Truth Behind Tik Tok’s “For You” Page…
In a little over one year, Charli D’amelio has become a household name. Tik Tok, the app of endless scrolling that reminds its viewers of Vine, is sweeping the nation at nearly 2 billion downloads as of April, 2020 (Carman).
Tik tok uses a recommender system to feed you endless videos on your “For You” page that keep you on the app for hours on end. A recommender system is a method of filtering information that aims to predict how preferable certain content is to a user (“Recommender System”). So, as you scroll through Tik Tok, liking, saving, and sharing videos, Tik Tok’s algorithm picks up on your reactions and uses these indications of what videos you enjoyed to feed you more content of a similar vein. If you love to watch videos of singers, the recommender system can tell by how long you watch a video and whether or not you respond to it, and it will keep feeding you videos of singers so you can keep your attention on Tik Tok for longer.
Knowing that Tik Tok is feeding us individualized streams of content based on our preferences might raise the concern: is Tik Tok’s recommender system transforming our preferences? Is it really me telling the algorithm what I want to see, and the algorithm following what I respond positively to? Or is the algorithm telling me what I should want to see?
On one hand, I am in the driver’s seat because any video Tik Tok shows me is based off of my initial preference. I was the one who showed the algorithm what I wanted to see in the first place, and the algorithm provided me with content to match this. And I am not forced to watch those same videos that I once showed interest in; I can always show the algorithm if I am enjoying the content it is showing me by liking, commenting, sharing, or saving a video I enjoy or pressing the “not interested” button on a video I don’t enjoy. The Tik Tok algorithm works quickly, and once I give it feedback it will adjust my “For You” page.
Furthermore, we are influenced by everything in our lives. Peer pressure, societal and cultural norms, and familial expectations shape our lives, thereby influencing our preferences. To say that these recommender systems themselves are responsible for affecting our preferences and goals might overlook the fact that almost everything else in our lives affects our preferences and goals as well.
When I first started thinking about this question, I was adamant about the fact that Tik Tok was not shaping my preferences. I felt so in control of what I wanted to see while scrolling through my “For You” page!
But, think about it this way:
Pretend Tik Tok has just shown you a video that you enjoyed, so you like it. You now have faith that the algorithm will guide you in the right direction and show you content you want to see, so you continue to scroll through your “For You” page because those videos are what you should want to watch. Now, the algorithm is feeding you videos, and you are liking them because you believe you are supposed to. If Tik Tok were to start feeding you videos that promote a certain belief or make their company profit, you will probably follow it blindly because you trust the algorithm to produce content you should want to watch.
Moreover, the Dual Process model of cognition involves two different brain systems known as System 1 and System 2. System 1 is our brain’s “automatic” system: it is fast and associative, often involving unconscious thought. System 2 is our brain’s “reflective” system: it is slower and requires careful, conscious thought. Digital nudges and recommender systems target System 1 in our brains. They are designed to fulfil our instant gratification, and this is how they keep our attention for so long. In this way, they are clouding our System 2 (“AI Nudging”).
For example, let’s say Tik Tok keeps feeding you hilarious videos, and you are very much enjoying your time on the app. You should be doing your homework, but you are so involved with and addicted to what is happening on your “For You” page that you forget all about this (it happens to the best of us). This demonstrates how recommender systems target the Dual Process model; they are keeping our System 1 happy, while making us forget about our longer term goals (what we should be doing) that we would process in System 2.
Thus, through these recommender systems, anything that is developed over time (self-esteem, long term goals, personal values) is sacrificed for instant satisfaction. Even if it doesn’t feel like Tik Tok’s algorithm is affecting your day to day preferences, it is affecting you in the long run!
So, what does this mean for our usage of Tik Tok? Does knowing this mean I have to stop using Tik Tok altogether, or any recommender system at that?
Recommender systems are present everywhere in our lives (the google search engine, youtube videos, streaming sites like Netflix and Hulu, etc). We can’t really just stop using them without quitting almost all technology in our lives. With that said, we do need to understand the impact recommender systems are having in our lives, and work to self-regulate our time on technology so that our goals and preferences are not too far obstructed.
I would like to recommend an amazing book by James Williams called Stand Out of Our Light. In this book Williams discusses the attention economy and how we can take control back from technologies, a practice that I believe aligns well with combatting transformative recommender systems like Tik Tok.
References:
“AI Nudging: Data, Privacy, and Manipulation — Karina Vold, PhD.” Youtube, 10 Oct. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxfP-Ygb7Ik&feature=youtu.be. Accessed 14 July 2020.
Carman, Ashley. “Tik Tok Reaches 2 Billion Downloads.” The Verge, 29 Apr. 2020, www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21241788/tiktok-app-download-numbers-update-2-billion-users. Accessed 14 July 2020.
“Recommender System.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recommender_system. Accessed 14 July 2020.
Williams, James. Stand out of our light: freedom and resistance in the attention economy. Cambridge University Press, 2018.
*Special thanks to the Harvard Secondary School for introducing this issue to me!
