When Push Feels Like Pull: Early Adolescent Dependence on YouTube Recommendation Algorithms

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

While much scholarship on algorithms has been largely theoretical, this study examines how 356 early adolescents (ages 10–13) chose their YouTube content. Using the YouTube Algorithm Dependence (YAD) scale, findings show that the participants with the lowest dependency on the platform’s algorithm received more video recommendations from family than from YouTube’s recommendation algorithm. The study also introduces the concept of negotiated technological choice, a mode of interaction that reflects the tension between human agency and algorithmic influence. This framework offers media scholars a lens for analyzing how individuals engage with algorithm-driven platforms in everyday media practices.