Date of Award
Spring 5-22-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Architecture (MArch)/Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Illustration
First Advisor
Leela Corman
Second Advisor
Bryan Parcival
Third Advisor
Yourong Zhang
Abstract
This thesis studies how algorithmic recommendation systems reshape visual perception, aesthetic judgment, and the construction of selfhood within contemporary digital culture.
Everything begins with the experience of repeatedly encountering algorithmically recommended content on everyday digital platforms. On these platforms, images, sounds, and social interactions are continuously selected, repeated, and reorganized by predictive systems, forming an environment in which perception is constantly structured and adjusted.
From this observation, the research raises two central questions: how do algorithmic recommendation systems reshape visual perception, aesthetic judgment, and self-recognition, and how might these systems be intervened in or made perceptible through artistic practice? Within broader discussions of spectatorship, simulation, and digital identity, the project further develops the concept of the“filter bubble” and situates it within a longer history of mediated vision and subject formation. The research is based on theoretical perspectives of Sherry Turkle, Wendy Hui Kyong Chun, Michel Foucault, Jean Baudrillard, Hito Steyerl,etc.
The practical part of this thesis contains four short moving-image works and an installation. The films follow a temporal structure that moves from the initial intrusion of information, to the full integration of algorithmic systems into everyday life, and finally to speculative scenarios of technological development in later stages. Together, they construct an evolving perceptual structure. The works shift between fragmented and narrative forms, exploring different visual conditions produced by algorithmic culture, including information overload, behavioral normalization, and perceptual collapse. The installation extends this idea into physical space.
Through a structured viewing system, it redefines seeing as an act that is limited by position and access.
Recommended Citation
Miao, Longwen, "Finding a Way Out of the Filter Bubble: The Confusion of a Heavy Social Media User" (2026). Masters Theses. 1625.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1625
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
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