Willa Magland
Free From Algorithms
Posted Feb 20, 2024
As I was scrolling today on one of the few big-name social media platforms, I ran into a fairly common experience with algorithms where off-handedly liking a certain type or topic of post led to a barrage of similarly focused suggestions. The algorithm, so desperate to feed me what I like, turns a bountiful garden salad of a homepage into a large bowl of cantalope.
It's really annoying, and I've instinctively learned to be extremely cautious of what I like and interact with to avoid it, which is terrible in itself: modifying my authentic response to media to pander to a hungry algorithm. It sucks, but makes it all the more refreshing when switching over to open, chronological, algorithm-free platforms. I don't have to worry about going down a rabbit hole and convincing some machine I'm an x superfan, I can simply interact authentically.
There's the problem that people often run into of discovery, which is valid. I've been having trouble finding people to follow on Mastodon, but I've chalked that up to never having used / not know how to use microblogging platforms.
Current Status ☕
