Impact of digital personalization on the public sphere: news content visibility and agenda polarization in the conditions of recommendation systems

this article examines the impact of digital personalization on the formation of the public sphere, paying special attention to the visibility of news content and agenda polarization in the context of algorithmic recommendation systems. Based on the analysis of modern research and empirical data, it is shown how personalized algorithms form “filter bubbles” and “echo chambers”, limiting users’ access to pluralistic information. The key mechanisms of recommendation systems’ operation are identified, including the analysis of users’ digital traces, optimization of engagement, and prioritization of emotionally charged content. It is established that algorithmic curation contributes to the formation of parallel information spaces, where different groups of users receive fundamentally different sets of news, which increases political polarization. It is shown that personalization not only reduces the diversity of content consumed, but also affects the structure of public debate, creating “parallel agendas”. At the same time, regulating algorithmic bias remains a complex task due to the contradictions between the commercial interests of platforms and the public goals of media pluralism.

digital personalization, recommender systems, public sphere, news visibility, agenda polarization, algorithmic curation, filter bubbles, media pluralism