Configuration and control in social media systems

Social media is an important means for interaction, but one that is increasingly curated by automated systems that aim to intelligently infer user intentions. This dissertation studies how users experience different mechanisms to configure and control these automated systems. Three sets of experiments, combining surveys, interviews, and participatory design workshops, seek to triangulate how users experience these mechanisms for control. We find that one prevalent mechanism, control settings, improves user satisfaction, but they do so whether or not they are functioning. Despite that, however, users describe turning to improvisational behaviors rather than control settings to see what they want on their news feeds. A second mechanism for control, appeals of content moderation decisions, does not improve user perceptions of the fairness, trustworthiness or accountability of the system, despite user calls for human review of automated decisions. These existing mechanisms appear to fall short of users’ needs. As a result, we explore a newly proposed mechanism for control – contestability, whereby systems are designed so that users can shape and influence decision-making processes. We find that when everyday users envision this, they require substantial (and currently absent) support in the form of representation, argumentation, access and compassion from platforms. While this dissertation identifies few easy solutions for the challenges of automated systems for social media, it calls for renewed attention the importance of control as a design feature.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Computer Science

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2021

Author dc:creator

• Vaccaro, Kristen

Contributors dc:contributor

• Karahalios, Karrie
• Hamilton, Kevin
• Koyejo, Sanmi
• Sundaram, Hari
• Sandvig, Christian

• social computing
• algorithmic experience

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2020 Kristen Vaccaro

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/109518

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/109518