Human socialization increasingly occurs in digital spaces, where social media platforms facilitate content sharing. This digital self-expression, termed "semantic capital," contributes to self-identification and world understanding. Platforms like Facebook solidify memory-making by consistently confronting users with their digital past through algorithmic scheduling. This paper investigates the role of social networks, specifically Facebook's Memories feature, in shaping memory practices. Facebook's Memories feature, while appearing to simply recall past posts, actively participates in shaping users' memories in three ways: selection of experiences based on engagement rates (likes, reactions); user control over selective discarding of events and friends, informing future algorithm tailoring; and the linear timeline presentation of memories, based on engagement rate. These algorithmically driven processes differ significantly from offline memory recall. The paper employs post-phenomenology and concepts from ancient philosophies (Greek kairos/chronos and Japanese ma) to explore how Facebook's Memories feature mediates the values of time, remembering, and forgetting.

The paper draws on cognitive psychology's three-stage memory model (encoding, consolidation, retrieval) and emphasizes memory's reconstructive nature, influenced by prior experiences, beliefs, and context. Existing research highlights how Facebook's algorithmic recall, triggered by calendar reoccurrence and engagement rates, influences memory accessibility and potentially alters how we remember. The paper also references work on technological mediation, highlighting technology's active role in shaping human experiences and practices. Ihde's four types of human-technology-world relations (embodiment, hermeneutic, alterity, and background) and the concept of technological intentionality are integral to the analysis, emphasizing that technologies are never neutral in their influence on human values and actions.

The paper utilizes a post-phenomenological approach, specifically the technological mediation approach, to analyze Facebook's Memories feature. This approach focuses on how technologies actively mediate human practices and experiences. The study incorporates elements of experiential and relational philosophy, particularly the Greek concepts of kairos (experiential time) and chronos (sequential time), and the Japanese concept of ma (meaningful emptiness between events). This blended approach allows for a nuanced exploration of how Facebook's algorithmic infrastructure mediates the values of time, remembering, and forgetting, and how users navigate these mediations. The analysis explores how Facebook's Memories feature affects three key aspects: memory, control, and space. The paper examines how the algorithmic curation of memories shapes the conservation and construction functions of memory, drawing on Gadamer's work. Merleau-Ponty's concept of time as a network of intentionalities is used to argue that Facebook's linear timeline is an incomplete representation of lived experience. The analysis critically examines the rhetoric of user control over memories, questioning its feasibility and impact. Finally, the role of ma is invoked to discuss the importance of creating space for meaningful reflection on memories, as opposed to Facebook's constant bombardment of past events.

The analysis reveals that Facebook's Memories feature co-shapes the users' memories by mediating memory, control, and space. Regarding memory, Facebook’s algorithm presents a curated, often decontextualized view of the past, influencing what is remembered and forgotten. The presented concept of control is problematic; while offering tools to filter memories, Facebook also shapes the very definition of “good memories,” potentially influencing user responsibilities. The concept of space is examined through the lens of *ma*, highlighting the importance of the “emptiness between” in constructing meaningful memories; however, the constant notifications and lack of reflective space in Facebook's design impede the cultivation of this meaningful emptiness. The paper argues that Facebook's mediation of time primarily utilizes *chronos* (sequential time), neglecting *kairos* (experiential time). This oversight limits users' ability to reflect on the meaning and quality of their memories. This analysis challenges the idea of user empowerment offered by memory management tools within Facebook, illustrating how algorithmic opacity maintains an unequal power dynamic between the platform and its users.

The findings highlight the non-neutral role of social media platforms in shaping individual memory practices. The paper challenges the notion of user agency in managing digital memories, emphasizing the subtle ways algorithms influence what is remembered and forgotten. The integration of philosophical concepts provides a richer understanding of the complexities involved in navigating digital memory. The discussion emphasizes the need for critical engagement with the design affordances and limitations of social media platforms, recognizing their active role in shaping individual experiences and values.

This paper demonstrates how Facebook's Memories feature, though seemingly designed to preserve digital memories, actively participates in their construction and curation. The post-phenomenological analysis reveals the subtle yet significant ways algorithmic design shapes users' perception of time, control, and the very nature of memory. Future research could explore similar dynamics in other social media platforms and investigate the long-term psychological implications of algorithmically mediated memory-making.

The study focuses primarily on Facebook's Memories feature, limiting the generalizability of findings to other social media platforms. Further research is needed to explore cultural variations in how users interact with and perceive algorithmic memory features. The paper's reliance on philosophical concepts may limit its accessibility to readers unfamiliar with post-phenomenology.