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| Are there any positive effects social media might have on autonomy? | ||
| What is the perspective from a social media company – is it really their goal to undermine their uers’ autonomy? | ||
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| **Summary** |
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Can you point out in more detail how autonomy experiences were studied empirically, if at all? If not, can you make some assumptions how this could be reflected in autonomy need experiences as defined in SDT?
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Autonomy competencies are skills we need to act autonomously, "such as the ability to reason and critically reflect on their values, imagine different alternatives, develop a conception of the good, and regard themselves as self-directing agents worthy of respect" (Sahebi & Formosa, 2022). They may connect to autonomy need experiences because they are the components that stand after the needs. In order to fulfill these needs you need to be able to act them out.
Further research regarding autonomy competencies as a philosophical concept include: Atkins, K. (2006), Autonomy and autonomy competencies: a practical and relational approach. Nursing Philosophy, 7: 205-215. I could not find any empirical research on this topic.
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Digital Power Structures |
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Could you try to answer the question you mentioned at the end of your entry? „Are there any positive effects social media might have on autonomy? “ Are there any examples in the study? |
The text does not go into any detail about positive effects of social media on autonomy. The only thing they say about this is: "Social media can help us to achieve our ends and exercise our autonomy by facilitating social interactions with others that we authentically value." (S.19) But their main focus is on negative impacts. |
| Social media companies practice platform capitalism where the main goal is to get users to stay on their platform as long as possible. This way the users experience a form of exploitation because the companies collect their data without giving them a reasonable payback and therefore disrespecting their autonomy by not treating them as an equal. Through this and more – like the lack of anonymization and the fear of surveillance - users often experience a negative impact on their autonomy competencies. | ||
| The next issue is that platforms are designed so that people basically have no choice but to sign up and then to stay as long as possible. Through “the implementation of algorithms, and the sheer economic power” (S. 10), the power lies with the companies. Echo chambers, micro-targeting, fake news and radicalisation are a few examples why users might turn to opinions they normally would not support. Users lose control over their own beliefs and values. | ||
| The behaviour of a user can be influenced through persuasion and coercion but also through emotional manipulation where the choice does not lie with the user anymore. Endless feeds and notifications create the fear of missing out. This manipulation does not always imply that the user acts in a way the normally wouldn’t. It still can be said that social media negatively impacts all three dimensions of autonomy. | ||
| In the discussion the paper introduces several recommendations for social media regulation which not only include the change and transparency of companies but also more digital education for users. |
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What are those recommendations for example?
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