The visibility paradox: algorithmic audience pressure, self-discrepancy, and psychological well-being in creative media professionals.
- 1Department of Art & Media Convergence, The Catholic University of Korea, Bucheon, Republic of Korea.
- 2Department of Performing Arts, Graduate School of Digital Image and Contents, Dongguk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Abstract
Algorithm-driven platforms increasingly mediate how creative media professionals reach audiences, build careers, and evaluate their own public visibility. Existing research has documented visibility labor, algorithmic precarity, creator stress, burnout, unwanted visibility, and traffic anxiety, yet the psychological process through which platform-mediated visibility becomes a persistent condition of self-evaluation remains less clearly theorized. This Perspective proposes algorithmic audience pressure as a conceptual lens for understanding that process. We define it as a persistent state of anticipated social evaluation in which creators expect their public self-presentations to be judged by audiences whose composition, scale, timing, and feedback are partly shaped by algorithmic distribution. Drawing on impression management and self-discrepancy theory, we argue that this pressure encourages chronic self-monitoring and can widen a creative-platform self-discrepancy between the creator one seeks to be and the platform-facing self one believes must be performed to remain visible. We formulate three testable propositions and describe a visibility paradox in which the same visibility that provides recognition, connection, and career opportunity can also undermine sustainable creative identity and psychological well-being.
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BibTeX
@article{xu2026visibility,
title = {{The visibility paradox: algorithmic audience pressure, self-discrepancy, and psychological well-being in creative media professionals.}},
author = {Fangting Xu and Lizhao Wang},
journal = {Frontiers in psychology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1986473},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42923684},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The visibility paradox: algorithmic audience pressure, self-discrepancy, and psychological well-being in creative media professionals.
AU - Fangting Xu
AU - Lizhao Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
JO - Frontiers in psychology
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1986473
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42923684
AB - Algorithm-driven platforms increasingly mediate how creative media professionals reach audiences, build careers, and evaluate their own public visibility. Existing research has documented visibility labor, algorithmic precarity, creator stress, burnout, unwanted visibility, and traffic anxiety, yet the psychological process through which platform-mediated visibility becomes a persistent condition of self-evaluation remains less clearly theorized. This Perspective proposes algorithmic audience pressure as a conceptual lens for understanding that process. We define it as a persistent state of anticipated social evaluation in which creators expect their public self-presentations to be judged by audiences whose composition, scale, timing, and feedback are partly shaped by algorithmic distribution. Drawing on impression management and self-discrepancy theory, we argue that this pressure encourages chronic self-monitoring and can widen a creative-platform self-discrepancy between the creator one seeks to be and the platform-facing self one believes must be performed to remain visible. We formulate three testable propositions and describe a visibility paradox in which the same visibility that provides recognition, connection, and career opportunity can also undermine sustainable creative identity and psychological well-being.
SN - 1664-1078
ER -