Look Out for the Algorithm

4 min readFeb 25, 2021

I like to believe that we — as humans — do have some sort of control over what we think. I’m not referring to impulsive thoughts or natural instincts, but rather to our conscious, consented ideas and notions — including those we ourselves internally contradict. Whether what we think is influenced by our opinions, our inspirations or our insecurities, slowly but surely, the world around us takes the form of that which we ponder over, if only for a minute.

The social media algorithm has been both unequivocally beneficial — promoting our interests and keeping us engaged as an audience — as well as subtly harmful when it comes to certain negative views we may occasionally have, either by personal or social creation or planted by the media itself. Depending on how long we stare at our screens — at the pictures, at the content, at the overwhelming stack of information that’s presented on a platter — the algorithm connects us with similar content, not necessarily whether we like it or not.

Social media allows us to share and socialize with a larger group of people, often freely, asking solely for our attention in return. While this does not openly seem troublesome, as the media by definition is not looking to cause any harm, it inevitably creates a conflict of interest and a competition regarding one’s attention.

Because the media’s objective is to sell — a product, an idea, a moral, a story — it’s not particularly picky when it comes to the content itself, so long as it encourages a purchase either in cash or attentiveness. Social media — posting, engagement or otherwise — aspires to make itself as available and flexible as possible, which is why there’s barely any restrictions — most which are quite reasonable. Balancing satire, storytelling, newsflashes, conversational topics and friendly pictures, it’s no secret that social media can become suddenly addictive, a feature we’ve obviously accepted into everyday normalcy.

However, as entertaining, daunting and inspiring as social media platforms can be, I’ve recently started keeping my eyes open for any sudden changes in my mindset, as I’ve taken the pandemic to reestablish my self-confidence and whatnot — as many have been doing. Though I didn’t set any restrictions for myself regarding screen time, I did make a point of unfollowing accounts that constantly published beautiful yet severely depressing pieces of writing, or muted posts that made me overthink my own imperfections. Anything that encouraged self-deprecation I left behind, and my timeline unsurprisingly became a place of art, happiness, support and peace. By distancing myself from certain elements found within the media, as occasionally relatable as they may be, I realized that — similar to the thoughts we allow to occupy our head, the way we talk to and regard our own existence, we create our desired reality — both virtually and in life.

Nevertheless, social media has evolved to the point that we no longer have that much of a say in what we view; take every single “recommended” section, for instance: whatever we’ve recently viewed for longer than a few seconds comes back to haunt us into buying it. A caption’s hashtag attaches itself to another caption’s based on correlation, and all of a sudden that oatmeal recipe you were reading turns into a variety of people talking, joking, inevitably promoting eating disorders, to give an example. Our daily thoughts become a versatile product on the market, and the initial goal — to influence — meets its mark, regardless of who, what, why and how they — we — were bought.

I’m not saying that because you’ll end up on the wrong side of the algorithm because you once liked a picture of an apple, nor that you’re at fault for posting a satirical video talking about some traumatizing experience you’ve had, but I do hope that — in shedding some light into the uncontrollable stream of information that we’re prone to receiving every day — we are able to separate what the media wants us to see and what we would actually like to think; to not let our insecurities’ propaganda consume our thoughts and turn us against ourselves.

As part of the audience, we’re more progressively provided with a feed of our own choosing — though it occurs unconsciously, automatically. We’re fed information that attracts us and keeps us hooked in, which eventually takes over a larger part of our everyday thoughts, influencing our reality whether we intend it to do so or not. As a result, whatever we stare at in our screens is reflected in the way we view others and ourselves, a both encouraging and damaging aspect I believe is important to point out. That being said, I encourage you to take this piece of writing as a reminder to look out for what you put in your brain.

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Look Out for the Algorithm

Written by Georgina Bern

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