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Content creation within the algorithmic environment: A systematic review

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Yin LiangORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

While research on platform work has grown exponentially in recent years, the power dynamics between creators and algorithms on digital platforms, as well as their role in shaping online visibility, are yet to be fully understood. Against this backdrop, we ask: How does algorithmic power maintain its dominance and shape the nature of work for content creators? Through a systematic review of the literature on the relationship between algorithms and content creators, this article identified four core themes, namely (i) market rationality underpinning visibility, (ii) potential power dislocation caused by folk theories, (iii) neo-normative control of creators through algorithms and (iv) subversion of beatific fantasies. Drawing from Tirapani and Willmott’s (2023) framework to theorise the power relations framing interactions between algorithms and creators, we argue that the fantasies fabricated by neoliberalism justify, endorse and ultimately support the dominance and dynamic power of algorithms over creators in content creative platforms.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Liang Y, Li J, Aroles J, Granter E

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Work, Employment and Society

Year: 2025

Volume: 39

Issue: 4

Pages: 787-813

Print publication date: 01/08/2025

Online publication date: 03/06/2025

Acceptance date: 10/02/2025

Date deposited: 11/02/2025

ISSN (print): 0950-0170

ISSN (electronic): 1469-8722

Publisher: Sage

URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/09500170251325784

DOI: 10.1177/09500170251325784

ePrints DOI: 10.57711/zdsc-8t65

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