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diff --git a/content/posts/deleting-social-media-with-algorithmic-feeds/index.md b/content/posts/deleting-social-media-with-algorithmic-feeds/index.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e195a84 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/posts/deleting-social-media-with-algorithmic-feeds/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +--- +title: "Deleting Social Media with Algorithmic Feeds" +date: 2020-11-03T06:01:51-05:00 +draft: false +type: "post" +tags: [personal, social-media, pleroma, activitypub] +description: "About a month ago I decided to deactivate my Facebook account, and to uninstall Snapchat, Instagram, and Slide for ..." +--- + +### Algorithmic feeds are designed with a purpose, to make consumers behave in ways that they otherwise wouldn't. + +About a month ago I decided to deactivate my Facebook account, and to uninstall +Snapchat, Instagram, and Slide for Reddit from my phone. I did this because I +felt like I was not using the internet on my own terms anymore. I felt (and +still do) that handing the power to curate everything I see over to black boxes +such as the ones I listed was not healthy for me. As a consumer of algorithmic +feeds, you are not allowed to view, let alone control the system that decides +what kind of information you see. + +As an example, if you wanted to use Instagram as a way to show you content that +makes you happy, the most you can do is aggressively suggest to the system that +it should show you that content, by searching for it and following users who +regularly post related content. For the last 2 years or so, I have tried to +exclusively use Instagram for looking up dog photos, videos, and memes, and +sharing them with a group chat of my friends. Despite this, I still would have +content in my feed that did not align with my desires, such as political content, +or other content that would evoke strong emotional responses from me. + +As an experiment, I didn't tell anyone that I was deleting the social media apps +that I listed above before doing it. I wasn't sure what kind of response I would +get from those around me for doing this, if any. The first person to notice +anything was my girlfriend, who noticed that she couldn't see my Facebook page. +I told her that I decided to deactivate my account, and that was that. To be +fair though, I haven't really been using Facebook for many years, so I figure +most people haven't noticed my page is missing. Snapchat on the other hand has +been a little different. I didn't look into seeing if I could deactivate my +account without deleting it, so my account is still accessible to people. I +think this may have caused some confusion, since people might be thinking that +I'm ignoring them. A friend of mine said that he sent something, and I told him +that I haven't had Snapchat installed for a while now. Again, that has been that +as far as my life without Snapchat. + +There is this idea that you need to have an algorithm to curate content for you, +or else it will be boring. After using my own Pleroma instance as my primary +social media platform since July, I can tell you first hand that you do not need +to have a timeline showing content in any order other than chronological in order +to have meaningful conversation. In fact, I feel like I have been able to have +healthier discussions with people of different backgrounds, since I am not being +artificially confined to my own bubble. I'm also in complete control over the +content that appears in my feed. If I decide that I don't want to see content +from someone anymore, if I stop following them, my server won't show me their +content unless I look for it. My feed on Pleroma is strictly a chronological +timeline of posts from the people that I follow, and that is great. + |