Algorithmic Quality of Life and Hybrid Communities in the 21st Century: An Epistemological Reconfiguration of Multidimensional Well-Being in Sociotechnological Contexts

Abstract

Quality of life in the 21st century requires a theoretical reconfiguration in light of the growing sociotechnological mediation that reshapes the conditions of well-being. The objective of this study is to critically analyze algorithmic quality of life as an emerging category to understand the multidimensional reconfiguration of well-being in hybrid communities. From a theoretical-analytical approach, the study integrates contributions from Tonon (2010) on the articulation between material and psychosocial environments, Veenhoven (2000) on the centrality of subjective well-being, and Ferris (2006) regarding the structural nature of well-being. The analysis is grounded in the capability approach proposed by Sen (1999) and Nussbaum (2011), emphasizing that well-being depends on individuals’ real opportunities to pursue valued ways of living. Likewise, Vos (1996) highlights that effective access to resources constitutes a critical dimension, particularly in digitalized contexts where availability does not guarantee actual use. At the community level, Tonon (2017) redefines community as a hybrid relational framework that integrates both face-to-face and virtual interactions. The main contribution lies in proposing algorithmic quality of life as an integrative analytical category that explicitly incorporates sociotechnological mediation into the study of well-being, overcoming the fragmentation between objective, subjective, and access-based dimensions. It is concluded that algorithmic logics and hybrid communities are not external factors but structural dimensions that reshape opportunities, subjective experiences, and social bonds, thus requiring an epistemological update to inform public policy design in Latin American contexts characterized by structural inequalities and digital divides.