LG Electronics has introduced a fresh global campaign titled ‘Optimism your feed’, which aims to encourage users to actively choose positive and uplifting content for their social media interactions.
Kim Hyo-eun, the vice president and head of LG’s Brand Management Division, stated, “As a customer-focused brand, LG is a passionate champion of optimism. We aim to create positive changes in people’s lives by being intentional with our positive activities both online and in the real world. In the AI era, LG remains committed to our unwavering promise of ‘Life’s Good.’ We will continue to enhance our customers’ lives with a human-centric approach, fostering hope for a better future.”
Insights from a global survey on social media content
A newly commissioned global survey by LG sheds light on social media’s role as both a source of entertainment and a trigger for anxiety. The survey shows that nearly half of the users (45%) encounter as much or more negative content compared to positive on their feeds. Furthermore, 28% of users report increased anxiety due to negative content, and 20% say it has made them unhappy, indicating a prevalent issue with the current state of social media algorithms, which tend to amplify negative and divisive content.
The survey also investigated how to manipulate these algorithms to promote more positive content, resulting in the creation of the ‘Optimism your feed’ playlist, which consists of original content designed to attract more optimistic posts to users’ feeds. This initiative is a continuation of LG’s global ‘Life’s Good’ campaign, initiated last year to promote an optimistic approach to life.
Collaboration with influencers and expert insights
The ‘Optimism your feed’ playlist was created collaboratively by global influencers renowned for their positive influence, including Tina Choi, Victoria Browne, and Josh Harmon. The playlist features over 20 short-form videos ranging from motivational to feel-good content, curated to improve viewers’ mood and digital experience.
Professor Casey Fiesler, a specialist in technology ethics and internet policy, has also been consulted for the campaign. Fiesler’s research covers topics such as social media content moderation and the dynamics of recommender systems. She highlighted the importance of being aware of how algorithms influence our online environments. “Recommendation algorithms determine what we see on social media by predicting what content we are likely to engage with. These algorithms can therefore send us down ever more specific niches – for good and for bad. Research has shown that left unchecked, users can go down negative rabbit holes and encounter harmful content quite quickly. One of our first lines of defence needs to be improving our digital literacy, and paying more attention to how algorithms influence our online experiences. And the good news is that we do have some control over the input for these algorithmic predictions; if we choose to engage with optimistic content, there’s a good possibility we will see more of it.”
Victoria Browne, a global influencer and TEDx Talk speaker, shared her thoughts on the impact of algorithms on mental health. “The algorithms on our social channel can have a big impact on the content we see online, which impacts our mental health. That’s why I’m passionate about ‘Optimism your feed’, and I hope that people use this playlist as a foundation to retrain their algorithm and encourage positivity in all aspects of their lives. So much of the stigma and difficulty of tackling mental health is that it is unseen. With this campaign, we are saying you should reach out to your friends, and that we can help each other. Our algorithm should recommend content that makes us feel more connected to people, not less.”
The ‘Optimism your feed’ playlist is now available on LG’s global TikTok channel (@lge_lifesgood) and YouTube channel (@LGGlobal), with plans to extend to various social media platforms through global influencer collaborations.
