A Brief Overview of Algorithmic Beauty

What is the algorithm?

The algorithm is what is behind personalizing YouTube recommendations, short-form content, and posts for the user. It is fueled by the user data of watch history, clicks, shares, likes, dislikes, watch time, and more. The more time we spend on the platform, the more useful data we provide, and our feeds become more and more tailored to our interests. The algorithm gives rise to a “rabbit hole effect,” which keeps us scrolling on our apps. However, this sometimes results in dangerous and toxic habits.

Illustration by Min Heo from The New Yorker, "The Rabbit-Hole Rabbit Hole"

How does the algorithm affect beauty standards?

Algorithmic bias is when the algorithm shows users certain content at excessively higher rates. We have previously learned of its extremist behavior, which is when the algorithm recommends videos and posts that are focused on shock value (for example, conspiracies, pro-anorexia, politically enraging content). According to Medium and many Instagram users who have commented on this issue, Instagram’s algorithmic bias promotes posts depicting conventional beauty standards to users, even to those who do not follow beauty influencers. This bias has four basic factors:

1. Visual appeal

2. Behavioral feedback

3. Influencer culture

4. Advertising

The article further goes on to say that there is a disproportionately higher promotion of images showing female influencers in bikinis or scantily clad, rather than posts of them being fully clothed.

Why is this harmful?

Algorithmic bias is harmful, especially in its contribution to beauty standards, because it narrows down the dimensions of beauty to a single body type, face shape, and skin color. According to Medium, “this occurs in part because such images tend to receive high engagement, which the algorithm then amplifies.”