How Do Social Media Algorithms Appear? A Phenomenological Response to the Black Box Metaphor
Longo,Anthony
Longo,Anthony
Abstract
This article challenges the dominant ‘black box’ metaphor in critical algorithm studies by proposing a phenomenological framework for understanding how social media algorithms manifest themselves in user experience. While the black box paradigm treats algorithms as opaque, self-contained entities that exist only ‘behind the scenes’, this article argues that algorithms are better understood as genetic phenomena that unfold temporally through user-platform interactions. Recent scholarship in critical algorithm studies has already identified various ways in which algorithms manifest in user experience: through affective responses, algorithmic self-reflexivity, disruptions of normal experience, points of contention, and folk theories. Yet, while these studies gesture toward a phenomenological understanding of algorithms, they do so without explicitly drawing on phenomenological theory. This article demonstrates how phenomenology, particularly a Husserlian genetic approach, can further conceptualize these already-documented algorithmic encounters. Moving beyond both the paradigm of artifacts and static phenomenological approaches, the analysis shows how algorithms emerge as inherently relational processes that co-constitute user experience over time. By reconceptualizing algorithms as genetic phenomena rather than black boxes, this paper provides a theoretical framework for understanding how algorithmic awareness develops from pre-reflective affective encounters to explicit folk theories, while remaining inextricably linked to users’ self-understanding. This phenomenological framework contributes to a more nuanced understanding of algorithmic mediation in contemporary social media environments and opens new pathways for investigating digital technologies.
Description
Date
2025
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
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Journal Issue
Keywords
Algorithms, Black box, Social media, Phenomenology, Genetic phenomena
Citation
Longo, A 2025, 'How Do Social Media Algorithms Appear? A Phenomenological Response to the Black Box Metaphor', Minds and Machines, vol. 35, no. 15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11023-025-09716-1