Stuart Hall proposed the notice of Encoding/Decoding in 1973, stating that media makers use their precise language to encode information, but the audience will interpret (or decode) it according to their own ideas. This decoding process can take one of three forms: Dominant reading, where the audience fully accepts the meaning expected by the producer; Negotiated reading, where the audience agrees with certain viewpoints of the information, but also has their own interpretation of other viewpoints; Finally, there is Oppositional reading, in which the audience completely rejects the expected information and creates their own meaning for the text.

The big data inference algorithms on online platforms, especially in today’s era, are all done very well on major mainstream platforms. Content creators (such as social media companies or advertisers) may encode users’ information based on their gender, interests, and behavior. For example, female users may be coded as liking fashion, beauty, and parenting related content. But male users may be pushed more content about technology, cars, and sports. These pieces of information are pushed to different audiences through algorithms designed by the creator. For example, a study revealed that an ad promoting STEM careers reached more men than women, even when designed to be neutral (Lambrecht & Tucker, 2019). Additionally, algorithms often reflect and perpetuate harmful stereotypes about women, leading to biased product recommendations and limiting their choices (Mishra et al., 2019).

According to Hall’s thesis, audiences (whether male or female) “decode” these signals depending on their own origins, interests, and culture. Women, for example, may readily accept beauty-related advertisements or films if they align with their expectations and interests. This is known as a dominant interpretation, in which they accord with the intended meaning. However, some women may question or examine these advertisements critically. This is a negotiated interpretation, in which people partially agree with the message but modify it depending on their own experiences. On the other hand, if some women reject these advertisements, believing that they perpetuate gender stereotypes or objectify women, they will adopt an opposing interpretation in which they entirely disagree with the message.

And the same, males may decode information in various ways. For example, males watching sports or technology material may totally embrace the ideals given (dominant reading). However, if some men dispute these issues, believing they are too commercial or lack variety, their decoding may be a negotiated interpretation. If they entirely oppose these views, believing the information to be outdated or prejudiced, their decoding may be an oppositional reading.