Resist The Bubble Realm of the Algorithm

I hate every recommendation algorithm on any social media or content platform I've ever been on.

It only takes a few clicks and you're trapped in a bubble realm. Things follow you around. It gets really boring really quickly.

I don't know about you, but I can only stand to see the same Facebook ad so many times. It’s the same wherever I go on the internet. Click one thing, find a thousand more like it.

I see it in my google news feed (now turned off), on my Youtube account (now mostly logged out) and on my Twitter (barely there anymore).

I used to like social media because it helped me discover new things.

Lately, though, I have stopped looking to social media for finding interesting stuff.

The same is true for streaming platforms. Netflix will just show me what’s popular and more of the same things I have already seen. I am so tired of the endless bubble binge.

The real concern, of course, is that the bubbles social media networks create screw with our perception of the world. You pick up other people’s opinions like headlice. You don’t know where the opinion comes from, you don’t really know if it all makes sense, but if you are not careful, you pass on something vile.

In my case, the longer I am on the internet, the more I believe that everything is an issue, everyone is miserable, everything is offensive, and that yes, really, the world is going downhill and fast.

And maybe that is true.

But also, maybe it isn’t.

The most enlightening conversations about serious issues I have had over the past few years never happened on the internet. Twitter or Facebook are not the places to go when you want to form an opinion on something. You will only get extreme views there because moderation does not go viral.

Even slower platforms like Reddit or a forum somewhere can become toxic really quickly. There is just something about inflammatory conversations that attracts more readers and commenters. Controversy and extreme views float to the top.

So be careful out there.

Pop your bubbles from time to time and have a conversation with someone who does not agree with you. Invite them to dinner, listen, and try to understand. It might not change your views, but it might remind you that we’re all people.

Perhaps you wildly disagree when it comes to politics, but you can still bond over your shared love for gardening.