I’ve been looking for a new home on social media this year. Like many people, I’ve been nomadic regarding relaying my online foundations post-Twitter for a while. I might be approaching options like Goldilocks (too corporate, hostile, self-congratulatory, noisy, blah, etc). Maybe I’m being too picky.
Algorithms killed something in social media. When Twitter turned them on and changed the organic network into one with an ever-evolving monster with an insatiable appetite for our engaging “content”. No longer could we start conversations with those who followed us; we had to “earn attention” by being as appealing (provocative/emotional) as possible.
For some, the most frustrating aspect of social media algorithms is how hard it is to reach others. For me, it’s how hard it is to be reached by posts that give me a richly diverse range of reasons to be joyful and hopeful. The algorithms are often so sensitive to what they think we need that they overwhelm us with more of what we already have in our bowl.
Meaningful Connection Is Full of Surprises
It’s like you’re at a buffet filled with diverse and unfamiliar foods. The Algorithm follows you and watches as you explore what’s on offer. Something piques your curiosity and catches your attention enough to make you pause. “I’ll give that a go”, you think, adding a spoonful to your bowl. The Algorithm clicks its fingers, and suddenly, the whole buffet table changes. Quick! He wants porridge. Fill the table with porridge!
Out in the kitchen, the creators are busy making porridge. “He loves porridge!” Each chef pours a bag of oats into their many pans. They all run out to fill the serving receptacles on the table. The one who gets there first (they’ve paid their monthly subscription for a super fast heating fire hob) says, “I see you have porridge…if you like porridge, you should try porridge”.
“But I have porridge”.
“Not like this porridge.”
“Yes, it looks just like the porridge in my bowl.”
A crowd of porridge creators emerges from the kitchen and marches towards you…“You’ll love porridge if you love porridge”.
“Well, yeah. You’re not saying anything!”
Suddenly, your desire for porridge fizzles out. “Enough already, I hate porridge!” You shout to get some peace…
“Ahem, excuse me”, a voice emerges from behind you. “If you hate porridge, you’ll love my anti-porridge porridge; join us in the stand against porridge.”
“What is it?” You ask curiously.
“Well”, they declare confidently…”it’s NOT porridge!”
Numbed By The Algorithm
This is my biggest concern. Algorithms breed indifference and numbness through overexposure and productive commodification of everything. They’re training us to see social relations as transactional negotiations and sales pitches.
Algorithms make it hard because they overwhelm the senses with a compressed view of humanity. They deliver what they assume we want, taking us deeper into the Like Mind. But they can’t provide nuance, variety, or topics we have shown few previous references to or interest in. They are the complete opposite of an authentic social experience with strangers.
As someone who loves to connect dots and find unexpected creative corridors to explore, algorithms are a direct obstacle to creativity. They prevent the weird and wonderful combinations of disparate, unrelated forces from smushing together unexpectedly. They turn a beautifully diverse, contradictory, imperfect technicolour world full of collective potential into a monochromatic list of individuals trying to sell their services to people who sit in the same superficial boxes as us.
Maybe I’m hoping for the impossible, but I don’t want to live in a chamber that echoes with nothing but the sound of porridge.
Over to You
Have you found anywhere? I’d love to know!
