Algorithmic Curation on Streaming Platforms and the Reshaping of Taste Cultures

Kato Nabirye H.

Faculty of Business, Kampala International University, Uganda

                                                                    ABSTRACT
Algorithmic curation on streaming platforms has fundamentally reshaped the production, circulation, and consumption of cultural goods, thereby transforming contemporary taste cultures. This study examines how recommendation systems on platforms such as Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube mediate audience preferences, influence cultural capital, and structure patterns of content discovery. Drawing on cultural sociology, platform studies, and data-driven media analysis, the paper explores the mechanisms through which algorithms filter, sequence, and prioritize content, including personalization, similarity matching, popularity bias, and temporal dynamics.The analysis highlights the role of algorithmic curation in producing path dependence, reinforcing aesthetic norms, and fostering echo chambers, while also enabling new forms of cultural exploration and diversification. It further interrogates the implications for audience fragmentation, the reconfiguration of cultural capital, and the tension between mainstream visibility and niche discovery. Through comparative perspectives and case-based insights, the study demonstrates that while streaming platforms expand access to cultural goods, they simultaneously concentrate attention and standardize taste patterns. The paper concludes that algorithmic curation does not merely reflect audience preferences but actively constructs them, redefining agency for both creators and consumers. It calls for greater transparency, methodological innovation, and regulatory attention to address the cultural and ethical implications of algorithmically mediated consumption in the digital age.

Keywords: Algorithmic Curation, Streaming Platforms, Taste Cultures,Cultural Capital, and Recommendation Systems.

CITE AS: Kato Nabirye H. (2026). Algorithmic Curation on Streaming Platforms and the Reshaping of Taste Cultures. IDOSR JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES 11(1): 10-17.
https://doi.org/10.59298/IDOSRJHSS/2026/1111017