The user experience of personalized content

Abstract

Content in digital services is often filtered for users based on individual preferences with the possible consequence of creating a state referred to as a “filter bubble”. The objective of this paper is to examine which of a user’s inherent needs that are important to satisfy when a user is consuming personalized content in a digital service. The paper uses a survey to measure the need for autonomy, competence and relatedness of the SelfDetermination Theory when users are consuming filtered content in digital services. The results show that the investigated services fail to satisfy all needs. A satisfactory user experience should include the opportunity for the user to satisfy the need for autonomy, competence and relatedness. For autonomy, transparency of filtering and choice about filtering should be offered. For competence, it is essential to offer content that the user can learn from, and also provide the right amount of choice throughout the service. The danger of filter bubbles is not personalization, but to remove choice about personalization.

The Psychology of Personalization in Digital Environments: From Motivation to Well-Being – A Theoretical Integration

“…In this context, some argue that personalization enhances human agency by supporting better decision-making and reducing information overload, and that it may ultimately increase the individual's well-being (e.g., by fostering healthier lifestyles and lifelong learning; Spanakis et al, 2014). Others contend that personalization excludes human supervision, potentially enabling coercion, manipulation, and the formation of echo chambers as well as undermining autonomy and control (e.g., Mejtoft et al, 2020;Newell & Marabelli, 2015). Against this background, it seems reasonable to hypothesize that users differ regarding the perceived benefits and risks of personalization (see, e.g., Amarnath & Jaidev, 2020;Lee & Lee, 2009;Liang et al, 2006;Salonen & Karjaluoto, 2016;Treiblmaier & Pollach, 2007) and that personalization is likely to have complex influences on individuals.…”