This study examines how algorithmically curated social media marketing (SMM) on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter shapes contemporary youth culture in India. Anchored in Platform Theory and Algorithmic Culture Theory, the research conceptualises social media platforms not as neutral communication channels but as computationally governed cultural infrastructures that structure visibility, produce normative cues, and mediate identity formation. Employing a sequential explanatory mixed-method design, the study integrates a survey of 300 Indian youth with 20 in-depth interviews to investigate the influence of algorithmic curation, influencer-driven intermediation, and perceived algorithmic authority on cultural outcomes.

Quantitative findings reveal that both algorithmically curated exposure and influencer intermediation significantly predict youth cultural shifts, including identity performance, norm adoption, lifestyle aspiration, and behavioural alignment. Perceived algorithmic authority functions as a meaningful mediator, indicating that cultural internalisation is shaped not only by content exposure but also by users’ trust in algorithmic outputs as socially valid and culturally credible. Qualitative insights further illuminate how youth experience algorithmic curation as a pervasive force that narrows cultural horizons, accelerates trend cycles, and produces aspirational pressure through influencer-generated narratives. Participants frequently perceived algorithmic recommendations as indicators of societal consensus, thereby reinforcing the cultural authority of platform-generated visibility.

Together, the findings demonstrate that youth culture in India is increasingly shaped by the interplay of platform infrastructures, algorithmic governance, and commercialised cultural signals. The study contributes to emerging scholarship on digital cultural production by revealing how algorithmic systems function as latent cultural agents, reshaping symbolic environments and influencing long-term cultural trajectories.