Are the algorithms really keeping us connected to the world?
Ariana Zumaran Castillo (she/her) // Contributor
Ava Shahres (they/she) // Illustrator
The truth is, I have no idea who I should make the target of my urgent questions and concerns regarding this topic that has been running around my mind lately. The creators at the center of my issue are no longer among us. Though, they had little to do with what their creation has become–in the very fresh year of 2025 anyway. Said creation has no monarch, supervisor or ruler. No one I can specifically track down and knock on their door demanding answers. Therefore, I shall address my thoughts to the one person who has been my main receptor and confidante in cases like this.
To whom it may concern,
The internet has distorted my world view, and I have no idea what to do about it.
A couple years ago, we all collectively discovered that the internet was an echo chamber. A chaotic, aggressive echo chamber. You know, consulting TikTok for inspiration for your new nail set and finding nothing but “Nail Designs with a Bobby Pin” and “Avoiding Contact Dermatitis” videos all over your feed for the next two weeks. We are incessantly spoon-fed content that the algorithms of each app know we’ll engage with, to keep us coming back. Do you understand the implications of this? No, not that our phones are in love with us, despite what social media may lead you to believe. I mean the news we read, the sources we learn from, the experiences we listen to; they only tell us what we want to hear.
I know. “Well, plenty of times you have encountered upsetting stuff on the internet that you did not want to hear.” And I say back to you that I willingly want to hear stuff that upsets me. I am addicted to disagreement. Savoring the feeling of knowing how wrong others are, reading how they believe rice can be cooked without washing… I add a comment refuting them and giggle a bit as I see other users interacting with my support. In other words, I am human and I crave validation, which is very convenient for the apps on our phones because that is how they create engagement. Showing us content that contradicts our stance on a topic we are passionate about increases our usage of their app while we solidify our beliefs and feed our egos. Win-win. This, for example, would not take place if I was recommended a video stating that spraying lemon on your hair to lighten it causes damage. My hair is black. I would just scroll, and that’s not what the algorithm wants.
So what I’m really trying to say is, are these opinions and views that I pridefully defend true? If I am honest, willingly moving my fingers and typing in the search bar to find sources that may destroy every single stance I have formed in the last years is pretty terrifying. It doesn’t mean I haven’t gone through that rabbit hole a couple of times. Sometimes resulting in a change of heart, and sometimes just feeling flabbergasted because, “What the hell did I just read But is it enough? What if I have been rewarded so successfully by my For You Page that there are things I haven’t even fathomed the possibility of them being questionable yet? Should the concept of For You Page just be abolished altogether so I can scroll with the peace of mind of knowing for sure I’m a free-thinker? Because I don’t think I can stop using my phone anytime soon.