The algorithm isn't always to blame

Everyone is a victim of The Algorithm in one way or another. I'm still on Instagram (yes, I know) and I quite often fall into the trap of looking at Reels (super short videos) for too long.

I don't even like most of the content it shows me, but I keep swiping just in case the next one is something funny. The algorithm is really good at recognizing when I'm looking at a video of a golden retriever for 3 seconds longer than usual. I will get a bunch of other golden retriever videos and suddenly it will cut to something else entirely, lest I get bored and quit the app.

Then again, showing a user videos of golden retrievers is a benign use of an algorithm. The algorithm is also used to get you hooked onto extreme, dangerous content. Our brains love nothing more than engaging with content that gets us angry, scared, sad, or anxious. All to make us pay attention for longer, because eyeballs sell ads and ads are the lifeblood of these companies. They are using our psychology against us to make a buck, and it's working incredibly well. Thousands of people are working every day to exploit our brains in better, more efficient ways.

It's this algortihm that is (partly) to blame for the state of the world today where people are more divided than ever. Big tech became politicized; it's no longer about the truth, it's about what gets the most clicks, the most eyeballs, the most ad revenue. People are acting dumb willingly, all to get that precious attention.

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