The algorithm shapes the mind,reclaim it.
A living theory on how the algorithmic flow of major social platforms favors advertisers over the individual — and the anecdotal experiments, notes, and journal entries tracing a path back toward a healthier feed and a clearer mental state.
Curate your own feed
The default algorithm optimizes for attention, not wellbeing. With deliberate effort you can retrain what it surfaces — a small experiment in reclaiming the boundary between the platform and your mind.
- Information — the core premise and premise-in-progress.
- Notes — loose data points and observations.
- Journal — dated conversations and anecdotes.
What it gives you
Features
Information
The premise — algorithmic feeds scaled toward advertisers, and where machine learning pushes the mental boundaries of society.
Notes
A running collection of observations and data points awaiting consolidation into a coherent theory.
Journal
Dated entries and conversations that seed the theory, including anecdotal feed-curation experiments.
Start here
Information
Currently this document is a collection of anecdotal conversations and data points that will then be consolidated into a theory. It would be far more interesting to have this theory evolve as machine learning is slowly echoing into the mental boundaries of society. Spawn an army of social media bots and push false or misinformation? Creation of politically-infused deepfake content that pushes the civil limits of the modern era.
Observations
Notes
Log
Journal
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2023-05-07
- Conversation between h0lybyte and Stamp
h0lybyte:
I am currently rewriting a theory on social media. I believe that the way the current algorithmic flow of information that major social media platforms offer tend to be scaled more towards favoring advertisers and/or are not accessible to personal modification(s) / weights without going to extreme lengths.
Extreme length example that I have done would be:
[1] - Create a Virtual machine.
[2] - Register a new email / gmail.
[3] - Browse YouTube but strictly only content that you find useful. Videos on motivation, health, fitness, investment, programming, philosophy.
[4] - Let the YT Algorithm then continue to feed more videos within those topics / areas.
It has helped a ton, again this is just a personal experiment / anecdotal but the concept is there, at the core level.
Stamp: I agree with that.
The algorithm also keeps users glued to the social media platforms for hours per day watching endless contents that sometimes are really wasteful. It also creates a sense of pressure and competition to gain the most likes or more followers. That creates distorted realities and fakeness as people want to gain as many followers as possible.
Questions
Frequently asked
Is this a finished theory?
No — this document is an evolving collection of anecdotal conversations and data points that will be consolidated into a theory over time.
Can you influence what a social media algorithm shows you?
Yes, with deliberate effort. A common anecdotal experiment is to use a fresh account in a virtual machine and only engage with useful content, letting the algorithm reinforce those topics.
Why is the algorithm considered toxic?
It tends to be scaled toward favoring advertisers and keeping users engaged for hours, creating pressure, competition for likes, and distorted realities rather than serving the individual's wellbeing.