An algorithm is shaping your life

You’re here… Reading this? I’m surprised. I give a 90% chance that most people around you right now are on social media. Scrolling through Instagram or Facebook feed, watching TikToks, or – if they are smart asses – reading news on LinkedIn. Even you, a rare 2023 blog reader, most likely found this post as a link on social media. And if you did, it means that a powerful algorithm has led you here.

The algorithm thought you’d be interested, and so here you are. Reading this.

Maybe you weren’t even interested in social media algorithms before. Maybe you didn’t plan to read this text today. But here you are.

What I’m trying to say is that in 2023, we are actively allowing social media to shape our incoming information and behavior. We are letting the algorithms shape our spendings, hobbies, and even political views.

And by shaping I mean completely transforming.

How often do you buy a product or service that an algorithm had showed you? Personally, I do it quite a lot. Most of the times the algorithm knows about my problem and offers a solution. For example, if I text someone on Instagram that I want to do yoga, Instagram offers yoga classes. It kind of violates the privacy of correspondence, but I appreciate it. It’s useful.

Sometimes, though, an algorithm tries to trick me. For example, I have recently seen many TikToks talking a problem of fading mascara during the day. I have never even noticed it. But then, a few days later, TikTok offered a solution – an ad of a new viral mascara renewer. Dude, what?

I know I’m not going to impress you talking about social media ads, so let me show you something more tricky.

Sometimes, an algorithm knows you are depressed. It can see you liking sad memes and listening to sad music. It can see you staying up late and not talking to anyone. And what it does is offer you a new hobby. Say, scrapbooking. It shows you a ton of satisfying scarpbooking videos that calm you and make you fall asleep. You love them. At some point, you cannot fall asleep without them.

So one day, you decide to actually do scrapbooking. You go online and search for affordable scrapbooking stuff. It’s from Shein — the same company that sponsored 90% of the videos you watched. You place an order and start doing scrapbooking.

And while it was your decision to do scrapbooking, you didn’t even think about it until you saw that one TikTok. You didn’t think about Shein curing your depression. Even more, maybe, if the algorithm didn’t offer you scrapbooking, you’d go to a therapist and find long-term peace.

The algorithm could offer you a therapist. It could offer you scrapbooking. Or it could offer you more depressive stuff, which would worsen you off and maybe even lead to suicide. And you would probably follow wherever the algorithm takes you.

Okay, maybe you haven’t taken any new hobbies because of the algorithm. But it’s definitely shaped how you vote.

What feed do you usually see, politically? Is it right or left? Liberal or libertarian? Usually, you see something more or less consistent across time and platforms. You are sure that your views are right. Everybody thinks the same thing I think.

Weeeell… Not really. In the US, half of the people see one side of social media, and half completely the opposite. The algorithm is not just dividing us in two parts. It actually finds a small radical niche for everyone. For example, communism. Or literal fascism. It’s hard to stay politically neutral on social media.

This political division online leads to the real one. People are voting for more and more radical parties, and the population is what is called “polarizing.” Only the population stays the same. It’s actually the spread of information that has changed.

I could go on and on, give you more examples and reasons to be aware, but I think it’s time to offer a solution. What you can do if you do not want an algorithm to shape your life.

Be aware of the algorithm. Just know it’s there. “Aha, I’m seeing so many pictures from Grammy’s recently. I must have liked too many Zendaya photos from that night.”

Choose. On all social media, you can actually follow creators and actively choose to consume their feed. Create a list of creators you choose to check out regularly. Or simply switch to Telegram. It does not offer an algorithm-based feed yet.

Go offline. Not fully, of course. But try to learn from other people. Be open to hearing about their hobbies, their favorite products, and their political views. While the algorithm controls most of what you see online, it cannot control what you say to each other. So be present and listen to real humans around you.

And congratulations! You have just read a whole text that an algorithm has offered you. And you might have been influenced by it.