Stop It With The Algorithm
This week I was listening to a podcast and they were talking about how destructive the algorithm on their socials have become. They were specifically focused on how that content is pushed on them and that isn’t what they want to see. This is a pretty common statement in the social circles I find myself in as well as in the articles I’m reading and other media I’m consuming. I’ve mostly avoided commenting on the algorithm we are directed towards in our social media pages because I just don’t really concern myself with it. It hasn’t been a priority for me and I mostly listen to what others have to say and I can honestly see their point to a degree. So, after the podcast I decided to conduct an experiment on my own social media algorithm.
My algorithm is mostly leadership and business influencers, education speakers/influencers, Iowa Hawkeye sports and running. I decided I was going to start out by searching Civil War History in the morning and World War II History in the afternoon. Later in the evening I would take some time and search for the best vacation spots. Each time I searched these topics I took 15 minutes to scroll through them and like the posts. It took less than 24 hours and my algorithm had done a 180 degree turn. I had a few things from my old algorithm still appearing in my feed but it was predominantly the three things I had started searching for the day before. I can't say that I was surprised by what I observed but I was a bit surprised with how fast it took hold.
The first thing I observed was how quickly my algorithm changed. It proved to me just how quickly the world is moving around me. For my social media feeds to change so dramatically reminded me that technology is moving faster than all of us and we need to be extremely vigilant in how we use it and consume it. The speed of which tech is moving is something we will most likely not be able to change or even slow down so it is important that you keep up the best you can and use caution when you interact with technology.
The second observation I made was that our algorithm is really up to us. It is clear things are directed to us but it seems at least in my short experiment that the algorithm is mostly up to you. Your decisions guide what happens. This brings me back to that podcast and the discussions among my friends that I discussed earlier. The primary person to point the finger at when it comes to the algorithm is you. It is very similar to the concept of surrounding yourself with good people. If you want to be in good situations, you need to use more positive language and self-talk if you want those things to happen for you. To draw another comparison we have all heard the old phrase “you are what you eat” that holds true with what we seek out on the internet as well. The algorithm doesn’t control us, we control the algorithm. It appears to me in my limited knowledge that it wants to present us with what we are searching for, talking about and interested in.
I’ve always been a proponent of technology. New technology has driven the greatest changes in our world but we often fail to make the right adjustments when it is introduced. We get seduced by what technology can do for us without thinking about the unintended consequences and before we know it we’re wrapped up into a runaway train that we can’t seem to stop. It isn’t that we can’t stop that train or at the very least slow it down. We just get too comfortable with what has happened to us and by the time we realize it there is something completely new and different to distract us. We need to remain accountable for what we do not just with the decisions we make or how we treat people but also in our relationship with technology.
Some of you might be laughing about the comment “our relationship with technology.” I think we need to be fully aware that technology is not what it once was with the development of AI and the speed at which it continues to evolve. We are definitely in a relationship with something much more complex than just a machine and some code that is created for our entertainment or to make our work easier. Have a great week and remember when your commitment is greater than your feelings you get results.
