Media Contact: Javier Rojas, Javier.rojas@csun.edu, (818) 677-2130
The internet era of ordinary people stumbling into overnight virality is slowly vanishing before our eyes.
Whether it is someone falling off a trampoline, a mom singing an off-key karaoke cover or a hip new dance routine, these once common viral content moments are shorter and are losing their cultural spell, according to California State University, Northridge marketing professor Kristen Walker.
“The nature of how you reach and how quickly you reach people is changing,” said Walker, an expert on technology and data privacy at the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics. “Content still spreads but rarely with the force or duration it once did. That has a lot to do with the platforms we use and, more importantly, the algorithms that control what we see.”
Reflecting on the days when a viral 15-second clip could transform one’s life overnight, Walker said these instances are becoming increasingly rare with less monetization potential as the internet monoculture becomes fragmented.
More than 10 years ago, social media algorithms also did not play as big a part in content delivery as they do today. Every social media app is now tailored to a user’s online interests and likes, instead of having a general or one size fits all timeline feed that most people used to experience, Walker said.
“The idea is that the more information these algorithms have about each individual, the more they can personalize content and services to them,” Walker said. “While personalizing the algorithms is helpful to consumers, having artificial intelligence in charge of the algorithms, from my standpoint, is troubling.
“These algorithms (like a recipe) can now make the recipe and change it, and you might not know,” she said. “There’s no oversight on that process and as a result, our perspectives are shaped without our awareness. Algorithms deliver content to us on these platforms according to perceived preferences and with less effort on content moderation.”
While content still spreads, it does so rarely with the force or duration it once did, meaning that trends fade before some people even know they existed. While a short video might get half a million views, its grip on the culture at large is more likely to be limited.
There are also fewer choices for consumers, Walker said, as there are fewer platforms to choose from and fewer opportunities for people to share these experiences together.
“You have Meta owning a lot of the top social media platforms and then you see Tik Tok ownership involved with big tech and it makes breaking through organically for a new platform much harder,” Walker said. “The more that we rely on or are only given the artificial choice of a few bigger companies, the less discovery we have and that’s the problem — reduced choice and more power by a few. That’s why social media responsibility is very important in the future, because if you’re going to be a powerhouse platform, there is responsibility comes with that.”
While there have been positive advances in technology in recent years, Walker said one thing that is crucial and cannot be replaced is critical thinking that allows consumers to see and read information online and make connections on their own.
“The challenge with critical thinking is that it takes time and attention, and you have to let things settle in your mind,” Walker said. “You have to be able to let those images and thoughts exist in your head and let time help you discover what you think about them. The immediacy of the online world is not only changing the nature of virality with velocity and reach, but it is changing the nature of how we think. If we stop thinking, that is worrisome for society at large.”
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