Date of Graduation
5-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Journalism
Advisor/Mentor
Gould, Kara
Committee Member/Reader
Shelton, Gina
Committee Member/Second Reader
Funkhouser, Eric
Committee Member/Third Reader
Davidson, Fiona
Abstract
This study investigates consumer responses to a theoretical solution to many of the problems facing today's infospheres, including but not limited to echo chamber behaviors, misinformation, and polarization. The solution, conceptualized as the “Architecture of Serendipity,” proposes that media platforms tweak their existing algorithms to introduce a threshold of “serendipity,” or random and varied content in order to diminish the effects caused by the over-personalization of today's most relevant information systems (Sunstein, 2017). While there is a belief among certain academics that the architecture can prove to be incredibly impactful at diminishing these negative consequences, there is no commentary on how today's consumers would respond to the shift (Reviglio, 2019). Utilizing survey data gathered at a public university, this study concludes that most users would accept more serendipity within their infospheres, and some would even prefer it. These consumer aspirations are relevant as some begin to look to government agencies and media corporations to find solutions to stabilize today's infospheres to reduce polarization and aid in mass informedness.
Keywords
Infosphere; Serendipity; Echo Chambers; Algorithms; Personalization
Citation
Petrie, L. (2022). The News and Social Media Algorithms: An Evaluation of Serendipity in the Infosphere.. Journalism Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jouruht/8
