2021/11/06 by Jean Burgess, Daniel Angus, Nicholas Carah +9 · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Law in Society and Culture #Public Spaces through Art #Digital Games and Media
paper · pdf · doi:10.31235/osf.io/2cwsu
openalex publication_date 2021/11/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
In this paper we outline and demonstrate the critical simulation approach to understanding the data operations of visual social media platforms. We situate this approach within the field of platform studies and position it as a ‘hybrid digital method’, before describing its application for descriptive, forensic and speculative purposes in two current research projects: one that uses machine vision combined with mixed-methods qualitative research to explore Instagram’s algorithmic visual culture; and one that combines automated data donation and machine vision to explore Facebook’s ad targeting practices.