Social media feeds as curatorial assemblages: A conceptual framework

Social media feeds are a central object of analysis and a frequently recurring topic in the study of digital cultures, but their complex and ephemeral nature resists conceptualization. This paper addresses this challenge by approaching feeds as “assemblages.” Using Instagram and TikTok as primary examples, we employ the concept of the “feed-as-assemblage” to understand how a feed’s constitutive elements (e.g., algorithms, data, devices, interfaces, human actors, practices) form relations both at the micro-level of individual feeds and at the macro-level between all the feeds of a given platform. These relations make up intricate sociotechnical ensembles driven by curation, which is to say, the feed-as-assemblage constantly selects specific elements and rearranges their relations in order to generate value. On the basis of this conceptual framework, we focus on three central elements in the feed-as-assemblage – recommender systems, interfaces, and user practices. These elements serve in turn as heuristic access points into the production of (and exchange between) different forms of value. The general aim of this paper is to offer a conceptual approach that brings the strengths of multiple disciplines to bear in analyzing social media feeds.