Engagement-driven curation can trap culture consumers in 'overfamiliarity,' leading to less long-term satisfaction
Sometimes you can be too good at your job. Take streaming services, like Spotify or Netflix. With engagement as their main goal, their recommendation algorithms typically identify the content a user engaged with most in the recent past and efficiently suggest more of the same. Content and genres that received limited engagement over a few weeks or months typically get dropped.
Streaming services, such as Spotify and Netflix, have recommendation algorithms that prioritize engagement over taste. These algorithms suggest more of the same content that users have engaged with most recently. However, content that received limited engagement over a short period of time is often dropped. Professor Samsun Knight, from the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, argues that familiarity does not equate to taste, which takes longer to develop.
In her research, "Engagement-based curation and the evolution of taste," Knight suggests that overexposure to a particular genre or artist can lead to decreased satisfaction and eventual disengagement. This is because the algorithms fail to recognize that a user's past engagement is a result of the algorithm's own influence, rather than the user's independent taste.
As a result, the platform continues to serve familiar content, which reinforces its own choices and perpetuates a cycle of overexposure. Additionally, new artistic movements and experimental content may be stifled, as users are denied the opportunity to discover and appreciate something different from what they are accustomed to.
Knight proposes that intentionally exploring less-familiar content, alongside reducing repetition of well-loved content, could help maintain long-term satisfaction and cultural diversity. Real human recommendations, such as staff playlists or curated picks, could also be beneficial, as they are driven by personal belief in the content rather than short-term metrics.
Ultimately, Knight believes that a more aggressive approach to exploration, combined with reduced repetition, can lead to the discovery of new cultural phenomena.
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