The clearest and most disturbing realization I had after quitting Big Tech/algorithmic social media was that my mind had been colonized by the timeline. I thought about what it told me to think about, to the exclusion of what I may have pursued on my own, synchronistically and independently.
@jabel YES. I've thought about this a lot, but beyond just the timeline to the character of the whole media landscape around me: my priorities, the way I approach problems, the little fantasies that spark in my head, all bent by influences that found me with agendas of their own instead of by influences I sought out in my own pursuits. As a result, I'm growing much more mindful of my information environment, and I try to engage with it on my terms (I'm still working out what those are). This inevitably leads to the whole "how much of me is actually me" question, which is a real trip!
@restlesslens Definitely. It's a difficult balance to strike. There's no such thing as an "I" without other influences (which is as it should be), but this thing of abdicating your consciousness to someone else's agenda? That's intolerable.
@jabel It also told me what to value and what to ignore. I’m grateful to Micro.blog for freeing me of the influence of likes and retweets. Today I’m interested in what interests me.
Which doesn’t mean I’m uninterested in what others write, as this reply is evidence of. ☺️
@jean The structure of micro.blog definitely (and thankfully) makes it less easy to chase popularity!
@jabel One of the greatest benefits of quitting algorithmic social media I experienced was the unflattening of context. When writing messages between friends, we no longer have to edit for idiots and we can serve and return thoughts that build and invite instead of cut and dismiss.
@jabel Same. And I'm not so ancient that I don't remember how different the incentives were in the pre-social-media days of sites, blogs, and search engines that weren't gamed in sync with the social platform algorithms. Its insidious. Like a disease that I will forever be recovering from. ¶ What brings it home to me most clearly is that I find myself considering factors of algorithm and audience even when I post to my completely private blog and site that I keep/build for my children and a few others after I'm gone.
