Strangers you may know: social surveillance and intimacy online

Shmargad, Yotam; Watts, Jameson

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/89317 Copy

Description

Title

Strangers you may know: social surveillance and intimacy online

Author(s)

Shmargad, Yotam; Watts, Jameson

Issue Date

2016-03-15

Keyword(s)

• algorithms
• social media
• privacy
• intimacy

Abstract

Online social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook regularly use People You May Know (PYMK) algorithms to encourage connectivity among their users. We argue that these algorithms have the unintended effect of making users’ interactions more visible, which can deter users from being intimate online. To test this theory, we analyze the database of a large online social network that lets users buy and exchange electronic greeting cards (eCards) with each other over the network. We find that users are more likely to buy eCards when they have more connections, but less likely to buy them if they have formed connections to friends of friends. We attribute the latter effect to the increased social visibility that comes with connecting to friends of friends, which PYMK algorithms encourage. Our study has implications for how privacy and intimacy interact online, and calls for a deeper investigation into the unintended consequences of algorithms.

Publisher

iSchools

Series/Report Name or Number

IConference 2016 Proceedings

Type of Resource

text

Language

eng

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/89317

DOI

https://doi.org/10.9776/16113

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2016 is held by the authors. Copyright permissions, when appropriate, must be obtained directly from the authors.

Owning Collections