Chapter 2: Enacting the Everyday: The Dialectic of Algorithms, Data Activism, and Platform Power

This chapter explores the role of platform affordances and algorithms in shaping users’ identities and behavior within platforms, as well as the resulting implications and acts of data activism. Although users are active participants on platforms, they remain largely unaware of how their actions are manipulated, how their data are collected, or the criteria governing the visibility of their online actions. Therein, the opaque nature of algorithmic processes (often referred to as “black boxed”), which limits users’ understanding of a platform’s power, is of major significance. This chapter begins by examining how the affordances of platforms—the built-in features and functionalities that can mediate user content and interactions—shape users’ participation and engagement with digital platforms. It thus considers the critical role that algorithms play in curating and filtering a user’s content. By focusing on how technological features, such as algorithms and software, mediate everyday online activities, this chapter addresses the broader question of how platform power affects the everyday practices and routines of users online. In doing so, it reflects on the potential for data activists to intervene in these processes, while offering alternative models of engagement that challenge the dominance of platform-based control over data visibility and user participation. This opening chapter establishes the foundational context for the book.