A seat at the table: Teen experiences and perceptions of social media recommendation algorithms

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dc.contributor.authorNyhan, Megan
dc.contributor.authorDoherty, Kevin
dc.contributor.authorSnow, Daniel
dc.contributor.authorMoylan, Kayley
dc.contributor.authorJacka, Rhys
dc.contributor.authorFox, Izzy
dc.contributor.authorO'Sullivan, Barry
dc.contributor.authorGriffith, Josephine
dc.contributor.authorLeavy, Susan
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-13T13:50:08Z
dc.date.available2026-07-13T13:50:08Z
dc.date.issued2026-06-21
dc.description© 2026, the owner/author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
dc.description.abstractTeens are intensive users of social media recommender systems yet remain largely excluded from platform design and governance. The EU Digital Services Act (DSA) has the potential to address this through its call for stakeholder consultation in risk assessment and mitigation. To demonstrate how teens can be meaningfully engaged with as stakeholders, and to understand their experiences of algorithmically curated content, we conducted a participatory engagement study with 87 teens using scenario-based think-pair-share discussions. Findings reveal an ongoing negotiation between benefits, risks, and harms, as teens attempt to influence algorithms while managing the emotional impact of harmful content and excessive use. We contribute: (1) an account of trade-offs between personalisation, harm, and control; (2) teen-informed design recommendations, including safeguards, low-effort feedback, and screen-time tools; and (3) a participatory engagement method. This research reframes teen recommender system use as negotiated agency rather than passive content consumption and offers actionable guidance for DSA related stakeholder engagement with teens.en
dc.description.sponsorshipResearch Ireland|18/CRT/6224 Science Foundation Ireland|22/NCF/OT/11077 Science Foundation Ireland|12/RC/2289_P2
dc.format.extent18
dc.format.extent1763327
dc.identifier.authororcidNyhan, Megan
dc.identifier.authororcidDoherty, Kevin
dc.identifier.authororcidSnow, Daniel
dc.identifier.authororcidMoylan, Kayley
dc.identifier.authororcidJacka, Rhys
dc.identifier.authororcidFox, Izzy
dc.identifier.authororcidO'Sullivan, Barry§0000-0002-0090-2085
dc.identifier.authororcidGriffith, Josephine
dc.identifier.authororcidLeavy, Susan
dc.identifier.citationNyhan, M, Doherty, K, Snow, D, Moylan, K, Jacka, R, Fox, I, O'Sullivan, B, Griffith, J & Leavy, S 2026, A seat at the table: Teen experiences and perceptions of social media recommendation algorithms. in IDC 2026 - Proceedings the 25th Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference, Brighton, UK, 22–25 June 2026. IDC 2026 - Proceedings the 25th Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference, Association for Computing Machinery, Inc, pp. 372-389, 25th Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference, IDC 2026, Brighton, United Kingdom, 22/06/26. https://doi.org/10.1145/3773077.3806115
dc.identifier.citationconference
dc.identifier.doi10.1145/3773077.3806115
dc.identifier.endpage389
dc.identifier.isbn9798400722837
dc.identifier.journaltitleIDC 2026 - Proceedings the 25th Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference, Brighton, UK, 22–25 June 2026
dc.identifier.journaltitle25th Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference, IDC 2026
dc.identifier.startpage372
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/19058
dc.identifier.urlhttps://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105043581190
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
dc.relation.ispartofseriesIDC 2026 - Proceedings the 25th Annual ACM Interaction Design and Children Conference
dc.rightscc_by
dc.subjectSDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
dc.subjectSDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
dc.subjectAlgorithmically curated content
dc.subjectRecommender systems
dc.subjectSocial networking sites
dc.subjectStakeholder engagement
dc.subjectTeen online safety
dc.subject[ComputerScience]
dc.subjectComputer Networks and Communications
dc.subjectHuman-Computer Interaction
dc.subjectSoftware
dc.subjectMedia Technology
dc.subjectBehavioral Neuroscience
dc.subjectDevelopmental and Educational Psychology
dc.titleA seat at the table: Teen experiences and perceptions of social media recommendation algorithmsen
dc.typeConference contribution (Peer reviewed)
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