How algorithmic feeds reshape the way people write

This study applies Cultivation Theory to understand whether algorithmic feeds shape not just what people see, but how they communicate. Researchers analyzed 235 million posts from 4 million Bluesky users, comparing those exposed to News, Science, or Blacksky feeds against matched controls. Users on Blacksky showed the largest linguistic shifts, including changes in cognitive processing, emotional expression, and pronoun use; News and Science feeds primarily affected formality and topical focus. Reposting emerged as the strongest predictor of linguistic convergence across all feeds. The work demonstrates that algorithmic curation functions as a persistent social environment that gradually influences linguistic behavior, with implications for understanding algorithmic influence and platform governance.