Words by: Ash Buick
Sometimes it feels like social media has taken over our lives, but how often do we critically think about what we’re doom-scrolling through? These platforms hold so much power over us; it’s about time to take some of that power back. By knowing how these platforms work, we can gain some of the tools to stop ourselves from relying so much on social media. Here are some things to be aware of, so you can improve your experience online.
Intentionally vague content
Everything posted on social media has been created with a purpose. So when you come across something that’s super confusing and hard to understand, that might be on purpose. Algorithms on video-based platforms tend to push content that other people have spent lots of time watching. People try to game the system by making videos that you need to watch multiple times to feel like you understand them, or scour the comments for answers while the video loops in the background. These posts are a less-severe form of ‘engagement bait’, a type of post designed to maximise likes, views, comments, or shares.
Pipelines and echo chambers
Divisive political content is often pushed by social media algorithms because it is something that everyone has strong opinions about. So when someone comes across a political post they are pretty likely to interact with it. Remember, liking a comment that disagrees with the main post is still engaging with the post. The more political content you engage with, the more likely you are to get sucked into fringe ideologies. Once you get sucked in, it’s hard to pull yourself back out again. Unfortunately echo chambers are just social media working as intended—since they make you dependent on it.
The idea that the block button is a bad thing
I’m going to show myself as a tumblerina for a second and say that the block button is a really useful tool for curating your online experience. That may seem contradictory to my previous point, however I believe there is a difference between preventing yourself from encountering things that you find harmful and building yourself an echo chamber. Many of us use social media as a form of escapism from the harsh reality of our world. So it is valid to want to get rid of content that detracts from that escapism.
Being aware of how we engage with social media is the first step to understanding how it affects us personally. While we all know that using these platforms is bad for us, they are often our only way to connect with certain people and communities. So we should try our best to consciously mitigate the negative effects of social media.
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