Social Media Exposure and Toxicity

SOCIAL MEDIA EXPOSURE AND TOXICITY Res. Asst. Yağmur Sevim PARİM SAĞLAM ORCID ID: 0000-0003-4092-1341 İstanbul Yeni Yuzyil University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Performing Art yagmur.saglam@yeniyuzyil.edu.tr Abstract Social media toxicity occurs when a user is exposed to any content, harmful or not. Exposure produces toxicity that accumulates over time due to the continuity of micro-exposure rather than individual harmful content. In this context, the fundamental problem is that current power technologies manage user attention and desire by optimizing frequency, duration, and stimulation through interaction and revenue prediction. This is a result of ex ante architectural decisions regarding how exposure is dosed, rather than user preference. The study suggests that the level of accountability should not be limited to the management of individual harmful content but should encompass the management of exposure infrastructures. Consequently, user control over the exposure infrastructure provides the potential to change ranking factors and access alternative feeds. Keywords: Digital Toxicity, Exposure, Algorithmic Governance