Does Algorithmic Personalization Make Us Happier? The Effects of Algorithmic (Dis)connection on Digital Well‑Being

Although algorithmic personalization has become ubiquitous on social media platforms, its effects on users’ digital well-being remain underexamined. Using a one-week randomized controlled trial, this study examined whether and how disabling algorithmic personalization influences users’ subjective well-being and the underlying mechanisms among 148 Chinese adult Douyin users recruited through an online university forum. Results showed that algorithmic disconnection influenced subjective well-being through two opposing pathways: disabling personalization reduced digital enjoyment, which directly lowered subjective well-being; simultaneously, reduced enjoyment diminished deficient self-control, indirectly improving well-being. The findings extend digital well-being research by showing that algorithmic personalization shapes well-being through sequentially linked benefits and harms rather than through a direct effect. As disconnection was researcher-imposed rather than user-initiated, these findings should be interpreted with this distinction in mind.