Why researching algorithm-governed social media is relevant to understanding (online) bullying dynamics: Reflections through Taina Bucher’s If…Then: Algorithmic Power and Politics book review
Taina Bucher’s If…Then: Algorithmic Power and Politics provides a nuanced exploration of how algorithms are increasingly shaping social life, human interactions, media, and political representations of reality.
In a society where algorithms dictate so much of what we see, feel, and believe, Bucher’s work invites us to critically engage with the systems that are increasingly defining our realities. The book guides readers through needed reflections on power relations, mediated meaning-making processes, and technology effects and affects.
In a society where algorithms dictate so much of what we see, feel, and believe, Bucher’s work invites us to critically engage with the systems that are increasingly defining our realities. The book guides readers through needed reflections on power relations, mediated meaning-making processes, and technology effects and affects.
The book contains insights and empirical data collected before 2018, which would bring readers to think that her work is somewhat outdated, given how quickly social media and their affordances evolve. However, I find Bucher’s work remarkably timely, as it offers many valuable reflections on the invisible, yet powerful role algorithms still have and on their impact in shaping our social, political, and emotional spheres.
Key Concepts from the Book to Reflect Upon
In my review, I focus on the first three chapters of the book that provide a strong foundation for understanding Bucher’s central thesis: algorithms are not mere tools but active forces that structure the social fabric of our everyday digital interactions.
Algorithmic Power in Programmed Sociality
The first chapter sets the stage for the entire book by introducing the concept of “programmed sociality.” Here, Bucher argues that social media platforms use algorithms to structure social interactions, influencing what we see, whom we engage with, and how relationships are maintained or formed. An important takeaway from the chapter is the idea that the power and politics of algorithms stem from how algorithmic systems shape people’s encounters and orientations in the world. Bucher’s argument that social media platforms are not neutral but are designed to promote specific types of engagement.
Multiplicity of Algorithms
In the second chapter, Bucher emphasizes that algorithms are not monolithic. Rather, they take on different forms and functions depending on the socio-technical systems they operate in. This multiplicity means that algorithms are shaped by the social, political, and economic goals of the institutions that deploy them. Bucher effectively challenges the perception that algorithms are objective.
Algorithmic Power Beyond the Black Box
The third chapter critiques the common perception of algorithms as “black boxes.” While algorithms are often seen as opaque and unknowable, she argues that they exist in a state of partial visibility—some aspects of their functioning are understood, while others remain obscure. Bucher explores how users attempt to make sense of these systems, engaging in a form of “(un)knowing” as they try to decipher how algorithms work or influence their online experiences.
One of the chapter’s most compelling points is Bucher’s focus on user agency. She argues that while algorithms shape user behavior, users are not completely passive. Instead, they engage in a form of “algorithmic literacy,” attempting to navigate these opaque systems through various strategies.
Algorithmic Power and Online Bullying
By prioritizing engagement, algorithms can amplify certain voices—often extreme, violent, divisive—because engagement drives visibility, making (online) bullying and marginalization part of a power game between users and algorithms.
Marginalization, as Schott and Søndergaard (2021) suggest, often begins with the spotlight: viral attention that devolves into mockery, public shaming, and eventual cancellation. Social media build on these dynamics by leveraging algorithms that learn what intrigues and engages individuals, but in doing so, they also create environments where influence and power are shaped and contested in deeply complex ways.
In this context, online bullying goes beyond individual instances of aggression, presenting itself as a systematic process through which social norms are negotiated and policed in deep entanglement with political and economic forces.
References
Bucher, Taina (2018) If…Then: Algorithmic Power and Politics. Oxford University Press.
Schott, R. M., & Søndergaard, D. M. (2021). The Social Turn in Bullying Research. In (pp. 783-798). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118482650.ch74
Schott, R. M., & Søndergaard, D. M. (2021). The Social Turn in Bullying Research. In (pp. 783-798). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118482650.ch74
Giorgia Scuderi
More from PARTICIPATE
