Algorithm-based social media “recommendations” has normalized us putting up with blatant SPAM
Imagine if gmail or outlook were to place emails by ‘creators and brands you might like’ in your inbox!?
Following the process of enshittification, the algorithm on many social media platforms is becoming an excuse to push blatant amounts of SPAM to users. It starts as a feature that is genuinely useful, but becomes a tool to show you ads, content from paying users or to keep you hooked with rage-bait content as social media platforms seek to extract more value out of its users.
Algorithm-based social media has its benefits, but looking forward it is becoming increasingly necessary that such an algorithm runs client-side and is owned by the user.
cc: @showerthoughts
I don’t use much social media and have things set up to block most ads. So maybe I just don’t get how bad it is out there. But in my experience with Youtube I’ve thought it generally does a decent job at recommending me videos based on what I’ve watched and who I’m subbed to. For example, if I stumble across some documentary about an aircraft accident, I’m not upset when it starts recommending me other similar videos from that channel or videos from other channels and their similar documentaries. I’ve found good videos I’d never have seen that way.
It can get frustrating if you accidentally end up watching a video about something you normally don’t want to see, but the newer recommendations seem to fade away after a few days of not watching them. And I can certainly see how such a system can be gamed in nefarious ways. I never liked when I saw Reddit sub recommendations, but I mostly thought that was because their system didn’t recommend me things I had any interest in.
The difference is that youtube have a subscribed tab where your subscriptions are displayed on chronological order. You don’t have “reccomend” videos polluting the subscription tab.
I dare you to accidentally click on a Joe rogan created or related video and watch your feed descend into conspiracy, nationalism, pseudoscience, and other insane recommendations.
I use libretube now.