Created by: Wenyu Geng, Lei Ba, Ruodi Liu
Overview: This project is a theory-driven creative simulation examining how AI-driven recommendation systems shape body-image echo chambers. The final output is a split-screen narrative video using a fictional short-video platform interface, following two users — an Asian female and a European female — who search the same phrase “How to manage your body shape” but receive increasingly divergent feeds based on their identities and interactions. The narrative moves from search, to datafication, to feed divergence, to a critical moment where one user questions why she keeps seeing the same body ideals. The core argument is that recommendation systems do not simply personalise content but organise body visibility, amplify narrow ideals of health and discipline, and encourage self-regulation under algorithmic body norms.
Created with: Doubao, Jimeng, Capcut
Concept
Poster description: The poster centres on a fictional smartphone feed flanked by two divergent recommendation pathways, one pushing thinness and discipline, the other strength and wellness, with a timeline at the bottom showing how the same search leads to separate echo chambers. It argues that algorithms do not simply respond to what users want but actively shape what they see, desire and compare themselves against.
Development and Sketches
Contact the Creators
Wenyu Geng
Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds, with a specialisation in Society, Culture and Media. I previously earned a double bachelor’s degree in English and Finance from Shandong University.
Instagram: @bysylviaaa_
Lei Ba
Instagram: beryl_lyaa
Ruodi Liu
A postgraduate student in Society, Culture and Media at the University of Leeds. She completed her undergraduate study in Broadcasting and Hosting Art at Tianjin Normal University. Drawing from cross‑disciplinary training in media practice and cultural studies, her interests lie in digital culture, media critique, and the interplay between technology and everyday society. Her practice seeks to unpack how digital systems shape public discourse and individual lived experiences.
Instagram: krysscia.liu