Lonely Algorithms: A Longitudinal Investigation Into the Bidirectional Relationship Between Algorithm Responsiveness and Loneliness

Abstract

This research project addresses the role algorithms play in curating meaningful social connections on social media by examining perceived algorithm responsiveness (PAR) and perceived algorithm insensitivity (PAI) within the framework of the bidirectional model of social internet use and loneliness. In study 1, a cross-sectional survey found that PAR and PAI on Instagram are both associated with loneliness, and that the association for PAR depends upon age. In study 2, a 3-wave longitudinal survey replicates these associations. Online relational maintenance behaviors explained the negative relationship between PAR and loneliness but not the positive relationship for PAI and loneliness. Loneliness at wave t-1 predicted perceptions of algorithm responsiveness at wave t but not vice versa. This research contributes to social media uses and effects by theorizing and empirically testing the connection of algorithms with loneliness, finding that perceptions of social media algorithms are associated with perceived social isolation.