Algorithmic experiences of Netflix’s users in the Arab world: Implications for agency and social practice

Abstract

Netflix has significantly reshaped the global production, distribution, and consumption of audiovisual content. While Netflix claims its algorithm-driven platform provides superior services and limitless choices, it raises concerns about human agency, autonomy, and data justice. These concerns are especially pressing in the Global South, where predatory data extraction practices are prevalent. Research on this issue faces challenges, including a dichotomy between algorithmic power and human agency, limited exploration of user perspectives, and a lack of studies in non-Western contexts. This paper addresses these gaps using a socio-constructivist lens, centering users’ experiences in understanding algorithms as sociotechnical systems. Through reflexive in-depth interviews, it examines Netflix users in Egypt, UAE, Morocco, and Jordan. Drawing on Domestication Theory and a relational view of agency, it explores how users engage with, interpret, and resist algorithmic impacts. The paper argues that while users interact with these systems, their engagement is shaped by asymmetrical power, where algorithms control the parameters of user agency. It highlights the often-overlooked relational nature of agency, co-constructed through everyday interactions with these systems.