Social media algorithms: What if you could turn them off?
Warning: This article contains an account of living with an eating disorder Varsha Yajman was already self-conscious about the way she looked when she joined social media as a 13-year-old.
The centrepiece of their proposed reforms: an algorithm switch which would force social media platforms to let users turn off recommender content.
Warning: This article contains an account of living with an eating disorder Varsha Yajman was already self-conscious about the way she looked when she joined social media as a 13-year-old.
It is people like her the Australian government says it is trying to protect with a new suite of laws cracking down on big tech, which were introduced to parliament this week.
The government in September said it had listened to the Australians who had backed Contos's campaign, and announced a version of her proposal: forcing big tech to introduce an algorithm switch - but stopping short of requiring it be automatically set to off.
Countless others have stories of being confronted by social media content they didn't seek out, and didn't want to see – and there's long been suspicions the algorithms curating these platforms are harming users.
Studies have found social media use triggers a similar brain response to gambling and substance addiction ; that algorithms – often unsolicited – serve up content which harms users' mental health , and that they're spreading disinformation and increasing polarisation, driving violence offline .
it was like no matter how hard you tried to get out, you couldn't." Now 24 and in recovery from anorexia, Varsha says she is still served weight loss content on social media - despite having every safety setting turned on, and an exhaustive list of banned words.
I can just watch other people eat'," Varsha tells the BBC.
Others proudly promoted their height and weight - even the number of times they had been sent to hospital - on their profiles in a form of twisted competition.
Every night as she fell asleep, Varsha would watch a stranger on the internet diarising what they'd consumed that day.
What happened
The centrepiece of their proposed reforms: an algorithm switch which would force social media platforms to let users turn off recommender content.
Warning: This article contains an account of living with an eating disorder Varsha Yajman was already self-conscious about the way she looked when she joined social media as a 13-year-old.
What changed
It is people like her the Australian government says it is trying to protect with a new suite of laws cracking down on big tech, which were introduced to parliament this week.
The government in September said it had listened to the Australians who had backed Contos's campaign, and announced a version of her proposal: forcing big tech to introduce an algorithm switch - but stopping short of requiring it be automatically set to off.
Who is affected
Countless others have stories of being confronted by social media content they didn't seek out, and didn't want to see – and there's long been suspicions the algorithms curating these platforms are harming users.
Studies have found social media use triggers a similar brain response to gambling and substance addiction ; that algorithms – often unsolicited – serve up content which harms users' mental health , and that they're spreading disinformation and increasing polarisation, driving violence offline .
Why it matters
it was like no matter how hard you tried to get out, you couldn't." Now 24 and in recovery from anorexia, Varsha says she is still served weight loss content on social media - despite having every safety setting turned on, and an exhaustive list of banned words.
I can just watch other people eat'," Varsha tells the BBC.
Technical details
Others proudly promoted their height and weight - even the number of times they had been sent to hospital - on their profiles in a form of twisted competition.
Attribution
BBC News: Warning: This article contains an account of living with an eating disorder Varsha Yajman was already self-conscious about the way she looked when she joined social media as a 13-year-old.