Algorithms, emotions, and glocal dreams: Digitalisation and cultural expression shaping Bangladeshi youths' identities

Abstract

Digital spaces have emerged as significant spaces for young people in Bangladesh to have their experiences of communication, visibility, cultural expression, and identity. The study intends to investigate the interconnectedness between social algorithms, emotional aspects and cultural processes that facilitates formation of identity of the Bangladeshi youth. It takes a qualitative (20 interviews) and quantitative (54 surveys) research method to interpret individual data and identify patterns of the overall result. Theoretical frameworks guide the analysis regarding affective economies, surveillance capitalism, algorithmic governance and self-presentation. The findings suggest users are driven into this complex process of algorithms to personalize content. The process works depending on users behavior, likes, watch history, and engagement. But this awareness is restricted and not followed by actual control of platform systems, which results in the informed dependence. Emotional engagement is also evident in the way the platform functions, as engaging, relatable, and emotionally charged content becomes more impactful and fosters ongoing engagement. Meanwhile, audience awareness, gender norms, local cultural norms, and the influences of global digital culture combine and produce negotiated and hybrid identities of self-presentation. The study also reveals that social media is not only a communication medium but a socio-organized and technological space which is continually formed and reformed by algorithms, emotions and culture, and which influences online behavior and identities. In sum, the study gives an overview of the context-specific study of digital identity formation among the Bangladeshi youth in the context of the Global South.