Quantifying the digital cultural divide: how platform algorithms shape rural–urban identity politics in China

Against the backdrop of the in-depth advancement of Digital China and the rural revitalization strategy, short video platform algorithms, as a novel cultural intermediary force, are intricately linked to the reconstruction of the political ecology of urban-rural cultural identity. Existing research on digital technology and rural development predominantly focuses on macro policy and micro individual behavior levels, lacking systematic empirical investigation into how platform algorithms, as a structural force, shape urban-rural cultural identity. This study employed a nationwide stratified sampling survey, with urban and rural residents as the research subjects, and utilized regression analysis and structural equation modeling to systematically examine the differential association mechanisms of algorithm recommendation systems on the cultural identity of urban and rural residents, as well as the moderating roles of social structural factors such as household registration and education level. The results revealed that algorithm exposure is significantly and positively correlated with users’ acceptance of rural modernity narratives, which is specifically reflected in the significant enhancement of fusion innovation identification. Urban-rural household registration, as a key social location variable, moderates the association path between algorithm exposure and reality identification: urban user groups exhibit a positive correlation between the two, whereas rural user groups show no such association. Active search behavior weakens the association with algorithm domestication, as users resist the infiltration of a single narrative through autonomous information acquisition. Notably, different short video platforms exhibit significant differences in their associations with cultural identity, and both the urbanization level of permanent residence and education level exert significant moderating effects on cultural identity and algorithm perception. Based on these findings, this study proposes the “Algorithm Domestication Gap” defining the digital cultural divide as a multi-dimensional cognitive gap within the framework of the third-generation digital divide. This concept extends the knowledge gap theory, providing a theoretical lens for understanding technology-mediated urban-rural cultural politics, and offers practical implications for digital rural construction and platform governance.