Brand recall of skippable vs non-skippable ads in YouTube

Why do people resist algorithms? From the perspective of short video usage motivations

Algorithms embedded in media applications increasingly influence individuals’ media practice and behavioral decisions. However, it is also important to consider how the influence of such algorithms can be resisted. Few studies have explored the resistant outcomes of the interactions with algorithms. Based on an affordance perspective, this study constructed a formation framework of algorithmic resistance in the context of short videos in China. Survey responses from 2,000 short video users to test the model. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were used for data analysis. The findings reveal two types of “moderate” resistance: avoidance and obfuscation. Specific needs, such as the motivations of peeking and escapism, are significantly related to perceived algorithmic affordance, which, in turn, encourages the tactics of avoidant and obfuscated resistance. The results provide new insights into the potential formation mechanisms of algorithmic resistance. The forms of resistance highlighted in the paper evolve alongside algorithms and have significant practical implications for users and platforms.

Rethinking online friction in the information society

A recurrent mantra of the technology industry is that all forms of ‘friction’ should be eliminated from online interactions (especially commercial transactions). In this context, ‘friction’ refers to any unnecessary retardation of a process or activity that delays the user accomplishing a desired action. This broad category can therefore include online adverts that link to the wrong webpages, pop-up windows that block access to content or delays in the physical delivery of an ordered item. Although visions of a frictionless future have been common since at least 1995 (the year Bill Gates popularised the phrase ‘friction-free capitalism’), the basic notion has remained unhelpfully vague. Accordingly, this article focuses specifically on the phenomenon of online friction (i.e. ‘e-friction’) and elaborates a typology of the main subtypes. An analytical framework of this kind makes it much easier to compare and contrast distinct kinds of e-friction, recognising that important differences distinguish those that are ‘elective’, ‘non-elective’, ‘impeding’, ‘distracting’ and so on. Having sketched a preliminary typology, the article reflects upon the ethical implications of the distinct varieties, and concludes by suggesting that there are several reasons why an entirely (e-)frictionless future is a profoundly disturbing one.