Italian Journal of Health Education, Sports and Inclusive Didactics
From Cognitive-Affective Vulnerabilities to Digital Agency. A Pedagogical Model to Address Algorithmic Manipulation
Abstract
This paper investigates the detrimental impact of social media algorithmic content distribution on users’ cognitive and affective processes, while developing a pedagogical model to counter it. Evidence increasingly indicates that algorithms implemented by major platforms are designed to maximise engagement, intensifying emotional responses and systematically reinforcing reactive cognitive patterns. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as “algorithmic manipulation”. Drawing on an extensive, up-to-date body of theoretical and empirical research, the study develops its analysis along three axes: the formulation of a systematic definition of algorithmic manipulation; the development of a classification of the domains of vulnerability to algorithmic systems; and a discussion of the limitations of normative and regulatory approaches. On this basis, it proposes an integrated pedagogical model aimed at strengthening critical, metacognitive, and emotional capacities to support agency.
Keywords
References
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.32043/gsd.v10i3.1919
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