Sosyal medyada bireysel ve algoritmik filtreleme: Kullanıcıların pratikleri ve okuryazarlıkları

Social networking sites, which have entered our lives since the beginning of the 2000s and whose social importance is increasing in parallel with the number of users, offer their users the opportunity to produce and consume a wide variety of content. Users can create and share content in different formats on these platforms, as well as connect with billions of other users wherever they are in the world and follow and consume the content they produce. In this sense, the content that can be consumed through social media platforms that offer a two-way communication opportunity potentially presents a wide range of visual, audio, cultural, social, political, ideological diversity, and richness. However, in practice, it is seen that users do not / cannot always fully benefit from this potential diversity and richness, because the content accessible on social media platforms is provided to users filtered by social media algorithms that observe each user's past experiences, likes, interests and platform usage practices. In addition to algorithmic filtering, users also perform a kind of filtering/personalization through the content they refrain from sharing and the accounts they follow or do not follow while they produce or consume content. While all these filters are undoubtedly necessary and beneficial for a better and personalized social media experience, they also bring some risks. Voluntary/conscious or involuntary/unconscious personalization practices in social media trap users in "filter bubbles" or "echo chambers"; users only consume content suitable for their own views and tastes and are devoid or deprived of other content. Thus, users are increasingly trapped in homogeneous and closed groups where certain views or beliefs are strengthened by repetition; are isolated from opposing or different opinions and beliefs. Uninterrupted monitoring of personal data, which is the main source of algorithmic filtering, through social media platforms also brings digital privacy concerns for users. This research takes into consideration the way social media users use different social media platforms and aims to discuss the current and potential effects of filtering/personalization practices on these platforms through the concepts of filter bubble, echo chamber, homophily, gatekeeping, digital surveillance and privacy. For this purpose, the research questions the opinions and attitudes of social media users on the subject with the help of semi-structured in-depth interviews. The sample of the study consists of students studying in media and communication graduate programs of a state university and a private university. Keywords: social media, filtering, personalization, algorithm, filter bubble, echo chamber, digital surveillance, privacy.