Social Media

Algorithms — a series of steps undertaken to solve a particular problem — are an integral element of our digital environment. Operating in search engines, personalized news systems, global financial markets, political campaigns and many more areas, algorithms hold ever-increasing power in society, as they steer decisions and make choices about what is or isn’t important. However, as algorithms become even more complex, concerns continue to grow over their lack of transparency.

From the perils of analytics-obsessed journalism to the promise of micro crowdsourcing, new research papers have furnished a wealth of insights to ponder over the past month.

Below is a sample of new thinking from various corners of the research world.

As smart devices have evolved and improved, their popularity has increased rapidly. According to a Pew Internet report, more than half of all adults in the United States owned a smartphone in 2013, a 21% increase from 2011.

As information and communications technologies have proliferated, the practice of media multitasking has become increasingly prevalent. Debates over the effects — both the potential for reduced cognitive depth and the real-world outcomes of “distraction” — continue to play out.

The urge to share a news article or gossip might seem an almost random phenomenon, highly contingent on the chance encounter with a juicy information tidbit. Social scientists who have traditionally studied how and why people pass along information to others, however, have noted that the urge may be more pronounced during times of crisis or conflict. But this doesn’t always explain why information goes viral in the context of happier situations, for example.