Algorithmic Discipline and Subject Emancipation: Performance Strategies of Disabled Short-Video Bloggers

Abstract

With the rapid development of short video platform, disabled people gradually get rid of the passive position of being watched in traditional media and gain new space to be watched and express their identity in the media. Taking the disabled content creators on the short video platform as the research object, this study combines gofman’s impression management theory, Mediated Discussion Analysis (MDA) and the perspective of digital work to explore the physical expression strategy, discourse construction and subjective formation of the disabled group in the digital media space. This study identified three main types of online roles of disabled bloggers: inspiring performance centered on “overcoming disability”, daily performance emphasizing authenticity and normality, and value-driven performance based on professional skills and entrepreneurial spirit. These strategies not only help disabled people gain media exposure and rebuild their identity, but also reveal the challenges brought by emotional and digital work shaped by platform algorithms and commercial capital. The study also shows that although the short video platform provides new opportunities for the disabled to integrate into the society and participate in the economy, preferring algorithms and finding the logic and authenticity of traffic may also lead to self-loss and new sense of shame. Therefore, more inclusive algorithms and more accessible digital ecosystems should be encouraged in the future. This will enable disabled people to participate in public communication in a more diversified, authentic and equal way. Therefore, the way the public views them may change from “curiosity-driven audience” to “sympathy and equality”.