The right-time web: Theorizing the kairologic of algorithmic media
Open accessAbstract
Facebook’s goal for their “News Feed is to show everyone the right content at the right time so they don’t miss the stories that are important to them.” In a mediated environment obsessed with real-time–of near instantaneous content production and delivery–the question of what constitutes right-time has curiously been overlooked. In this article, I argue that the notion of right-time presented in the above mission statement is reflective not just of Facebook’s algorithmic workings but also of a new temporal regime produced by an increasingly algorithmic media landscape. The article draws on social theory, media studies, and rhetoric, as well as a variety of empirical materials such as patent documents, media industry documents and public discourse to argue for the existence of an “Eigenzeit” of algorithmic media that hinges on the classic Greek notion of “kairos,” understood as an opportune time, timeliness, or indeed, “right-time.”
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If reminders are not presented at the right moment or bring back memories that one would have preferred not to be reminded of, triggered remembering can create confusion and lead to negative emotions.
“Second, timing matters: If the reminders are not presented at the right moment (e.g., in a situation in which one is absolutely not willing to think about one's past; Jacobsen, 2022b; see also Bucher, 2020) or bring back memories that one would have preferred not to be reminded of (e.g., the death of a loved one; Lambert et al., 2018), triggered remembering can create confusion and lead to”
From Understanding Autobiographical Memory in the Digital Age: The AMEDIA-Model (2024) · cites this paper as Bucher, 2020
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Understanding Autobiographical Memory in the Digital Age: The AMEDIA-Model
Hutmacher, F., Appel, M., & Schwan, S. (2024) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1080/1047840x.2024.2384125 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
- Authors
- Bucher, T.
- Affiliations
- University of Oslo (NO)
- Corresponding author
- Bucher, Taina
- ORCID
- Bucher, Taina
- Venue
- New Media & Society
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2020-09
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1699-1714
- ISSN
- 1461-4448 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7315
- OpenAlex
- W3083498989
- Cited by
- 87
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 2 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 4.52
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- New Media & Society (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Networks and Communications › Media and Digital Communication
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Science Applications › Digital Media and Philosophy
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Humanities and Social Sciences
- Keywords
- kairos, algorithmic media, time regimes, Facebook News Feed, algorithmic curation, timeliness, real-time media, ancient Greek philosophy
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