Week 7: Digital Citizenship, Algorithmic Invisibility & Health Campaigns in the Age of Instagram
This week’s reading by Duffy & Meisner (2022) invites us to critically examine how algorithmic (in)visibility shapes the experience of social media creators. Their research shows that platform governance, especially through opaque algorithms, systematically marginalizes creators who don’t conform to dominant cultural templates—impacting visibility, engagement, and even self-perception.
🎯 Algorithmic Invisibility: Who Gets Seen and Who Doesn't?
Duffy & Meisner (2022) highlight how marginalized creators—especially women, queer, and transgender influencers—struggle with algorithmic invisibility. This occurs when platform algorithms deprioritize or “shadow-ban” content that challenges heteronormative, Eurocentric beauty ideals. Reading this, I realized how familiar this feels on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where filtered “mainstream beauty” content often trends while alternative representations are buried.
This concept ties directly to Mavroudis’ (2023) lecture, which discusses how microcelebrity culture is built on conforming to aesthetic templates—specific poses, body modifications, and gendered visual cues that appeal to the platform’s engagement-driven logic. These templates aren’t neutral; they reinforce pornification (Drenten & Gurrieri, 2019) and the monetization of the “ideal body” (Carah & Dobson, 2016).
🩺 Health Consequences: Body Image & Public Health
The lecture also highlights the public health risks associated with these online dynamics. For example, users engaging in what Mavroudis calls fame labour often develop identity dissonance—the psychological gap between their curated online self and their offline body. This can fuel issues like Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), as people chase unachievable aesthetic ideals amplified by influencers and even some health campaigns.
Interestingly, Dorfman et al. (2018) found that most cosmetic surgery-related posts on Instagram were promotional, not educational. This made me reflect on how “public health messaging” is increasingly blurred with influencer marketing—sometimes reinforcing unrealistic body expectations under the guise of wellness.
💡 Independent Research – Algorithmic Bias in Cosmetic Trends
Expanding on this, I looked at Wen et al. (2015) who analyzed YouTube cosmetic surgery content. Their study showed that videos often frame cosmetic enhancement as empowerment, yet overwhelmingly cater to heteronormative beauty standards. This parallels Duffy & Meisner’s point about algorithmic invisibility, where only specific beauty narratives gain traction.
Personally, I think this raises a key question: are health campaigns on social media truly empowering, or are they entangled in the same platform logic that marginalizes diverse bodies?
"The structures of platform governance systematically render certain creators invisible, reinforcing offline hierarchies in online spaces.” (Duffy & Meisner, 2022, p. 2)
✨ Reflection: Rethinking Digital Citizenship
For me, this week reframes digital citizenship beyond participation. It’s about critically engaging with platform cultures, resisting algorithmic bias, and demanding accountability from both influencers and tech companies. As users, we co-create digital spaces, but as Duffy & Meisner argue, we also navigate infrastructures that often replicate offline hierarchies.
💬 Your turn: Have you noticed how some types of bodies or identities seem more “visible” on your social feeds than others? How should we challenge this as digital citizens? 💬👇
References
Carah, N., & Dobson, A. (2016). Algorithmic hotness: Young women’s “promotion” and “reconnaissance” work via social media body images. Social Media + Society, 2(4), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305116672887
Dorfman, R. G., Vaca, E. E., Mahmood, E., Fine, N. A., & Schierle, C. F. (2018). Plastic surgery-related hashtag utilization on Instagram: Implications for education and marketing. Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 38(3), 332–338. https://doi.org/10.1093/asj/sjx104
Drenten, J., & Gurrieri, L. (2019). Sexualized labour in digital culture: Instagram influencers, porn chic and the monetization of attention. Gender, Work & Organization, 26(1), 41–66. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12312
Duffy, B. E., & Meisner, C. (2022). Platform governance at the margins: Social media creators’ experiences with algorithmic (in)visibility. Media, Culture & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437221111923
Mavroudis, J. (2023). Digital Citizenship and Health Campaigns. Lecture presented at MDA20009: Digital Citizenship. Swinburne University.
Wen, N., Chia, S. C., & Hao, X. (2015). What do social media say about makeovers? A content analysis of cosmetic surgery videos and viewers’ responses on YouTube. Health Communication, 30(9), 933–942. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2014.889288