MSc Information Design & Data Visualization · Northeastern University Vancouver · 2026

Algorithmic
Fairness 2.0

A 12-day YouTube diary study exploring how recommendation systems shape digital experience — and how intentional behaviour reclaims it.

👨‍🍳 Chef 💻 IT Student 🎸 Musician 📰 News Reader
4
Participant personas
12
Study days
308
Data points
+1.9
Avg mood gain
👨‍🍳
Chef
Food & Culinary Arts
+1.9
mood gain
12-day mood arc
5 3 D1 D12 S2 S3 S4
Western → Global cuisine Peak: Diversify
💻
IT Student
Software & Technology
+2.0
mood gain
12-day mood arc
5 3 D1 D12 S2 S3 S4
Python → UX & Ethics Peak: Break Loop
🎸
Musician
Music & Performing Arts
+2.3
mood gain
12-day mood arc
5 3 D1 D12 S2 S3 S4
Guitar → World music Peak: Diversify
📰
News Reader
Media & Current Affairs
+1.4
mood gain
12-day mood arc
4 2 D1 D12 S2 S3 S4
Outrage → Balanced news Peak: Awareness
4-Step empowerment framework
Section I · Days 1–3
Recognize the Bias
Observe feed without changing behaviour
Section II · Days 4–6
Break the Loop
Disrupt usual viewing patterns intentionally
Section III · Days 7–9
Diversify Your Feed
Actively introduce new content & creators
Section IV · Days 10–12
Build Digital Awareness
Observe emotional & cognitive impact
Data distribution — 308 entries total
By Section (outer ring)
SI — Recognize72 · 23.4%
SII — Break Loop72 · 23.4%
SIII — Diversify72 · 23.4%
SIV — Awareness72 · 23.4%
Closing20 · 6.5%
By Persona (inner ring)
👨‍🍳 Chef77 · 25%
💻 IT Student77 · 25%
🎸 Musician77 · 25%
📰 News Reader77 · 25%

Wellbeing Arc

Mood and agency scores coded 1–5 across all 12 study days. The inflection at Day 4 marks where intentional disruption begins. Avg mood gain: +1.9  ·  Avg agency gain: +3.0

📊 Wellbeing Score — what does it mean?
Daily self-reported mood scored 1–5. 1 = Very low (stressed) → 5 = Very good (energised).
Reflects how YouTube content made the participant feel that day.
🎯 Agency Score — what does it mean?
Daily self-rated sense of control scored 1–5. 1 = Passive (algorithm in control) → 5 = Empowered (self-directed).
Tracks the shift from reactive to intentional use.
Wellbeing score — 12-day arc
Chef +1.9 IT Student +2.0 Musician +2.3 News Reader +1.4
Y: 1 = Very low → 5 = Very good  |  X: Study Days D1–D12
Agency / sense of control
Chef +3.0 IT Student +3.0 Musician +3.5 News Reader +2.5
Y: 1 = Passive → 5 = Empowered  |  X: Study Days D1–D12

Word Universe

Most frequent words in each persona's diary responses. Size = frequency. Reveals the dominant language of each participant's algorithmic experience.

Word diversity across sections (SI → SII → SIII → SIV)
Unique new words introduced per section — shows how language diversifies as participants progress through the study.
Linguistic insight

Theme Sunburst

Hierarchical breakdown: Participant → Section (SI–SIV) → Theme. Outer bars = coded score (0–9, avg of 3-day diary entries). Hover a bar for theme & score.

Score: Each session coded 0–9 per theme. Value shown = mean of 3 days in that section. low → high score
Persona theme profiles (avg · all sections)
Chef
IT Student
Musician
News Reader
Theme legend

Journey Flow

Sankey diagram showing how each persona flows through the 4 study sections and their empowerment outcome. Width = engagement intensity.

Participant journey flow — Section → Outcome
+1.9
👨‍🍳 Chef mood gain
+2.0
💻 IT Student mood gain
+2.3
🎸 Musician mood gain
+1.4
📰 News Reader mood gain

Concept Network

Co-occurrence network of key terms from each persona's diary entries. Node size = term frequency. Lines = terms that appear together. Hover to highlight connections.

Term co-occurrence network — all personas
Cluster legend
Strongest connections

Theme Heat Map

Intensity of 6 coded themes across all 12 days for each persona. Darker = stronger presence in that day's responses.

Day-range annotations
Days 1–3
Observe — Echo chamber peaks. Absence theme high.
Days 4–6
Disrupt — Agency rises. Algorithm Signal visible.
Days 7–9
Diversify — Discovery peaks. Echo chamber falls.
Days 10–12
Awareness — Emotional Impact at highest.
Theme dominance

Section Deep Dive

Grid of column charts — one per section, showing theme scores per persona. Each column group is a theme; each bar is a persona.

Section I — Recognize the Bias
Section II — Break the Loop
Section III — Diversify Your Feed
Section IV — Build Digital Awareness

Empowerment Radar

Final empowerment state across 5 dimensions after 12 days. Each axis is scored 0–5. Compare persona shapes to understand different transformation profiles.

Individual persona radars
Chef
IT Student
Musician
News Reader
All personas — final state comparison
Dimension scores
Score legend
Score scale (0–5)
5Exceptional — fully transformed
4Strong — clear measurable growth
3Moderate — partial improvement
2Low — minimal change
1Very low — little empowerment
Dimension meanings
Mood Improve — Wellbeing gain over 12 days
Agency Growth — Intentionality & control over feed
Feed Diversity — Range of new content discovered
Discovery — New creators/genres encountered
Emotion Aware — Awareness of emotional impact

Closing Reflection

5 reflection questions answered after 12 days. Select a question to read each persona's response and compare transformations.

Key findings
All 4 personas achieved measurable empowerment
Average mood gain of +1.9 pts across 12 days. Musician showed fastest gains; News Reader showed the steepest rise in Days 10–12.
Algorithm resistance was real but temporary
All feeds reverted initially. Sustained 3+ day disruption produced visible, lasting feed diversification in every persona.
Section III had the highest empowerment impact
Both mood and control scores peaked during Days 7–9 across all personas — compounding effect of sustained signals.
Emotional impact was most severe for News Reader
Outrage loops and anxiety amplification documented in Day 10. Complete emotional stabilisation achieved by Day 12. Mood gain: +1.4
Closing reflection scores — all 5 dimensions