In their 1947 Dialectic of Enlightenment, the philosophers Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer voiced their concerns about how the popular media of the time—film, radio, and magazines—primarily functioned to pacify the general population.
here in Brasil we passed a law that prohibited children from using smartphones during their stay at the school entirely so they need to leave it at home and it started a trend on X about teachers telling us about the crazy stuff thats going on since the block like people bringing musical instruments, doing beyblade battles or even just taming a big lizard we have here called kamaleao and put it on a leash, imagine if we also did that to adults
You're feeding us with these posts lately King. Praise the alogrithm for bringing your content to me in the first place 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
But in all seriousness, it is increasingly concerning the way in which many people's personal identities now-a-days feels like it relies on their algorithm that they have "built brick by brick".
As someone who has BPD and struggles with defining my own personal identity due to it, I have noticed that in recent years a lot of the drastic shifts I made in trying to define myself were based on different algorithmic rabbitholes social media took me down. A shift in my social media habits meant a shift in who I was. It really makes me ask just where the line is drawn.
People have defined themselves by their interests for as long as humans have existed, but it feels like with the increase of micro-trends and micro-sub-cultures that the amount of interests someone is expected to pick up has drastically increased. You can no longer just be someone who is into crafts, or D&D, or baking. You have to curate your personality like an instagram profile or a pinterest board, building up algrothimically generated blocks of personality until you feel you have reached a certain aesthetic.
As human as it is to define ourselves into different groups, social media has made it feel exhaustive and tiring. The real kicker is that these groups aren't actually too different. Most of them still are partaking in the same activities, consuming the same amount of product, and experiencing the same routines. Social media has somehow made it seem like we all have niche specific differences from each other while also getting us to all act in incredibly the same way.
I'm really looking forward to reading Algospeak. Will there be any printed copies available in the UK?
Great discussion— and of course I and most those who read your Substack found you through the algorithmic feed (in my case, your Instagram, carted over from TikTok.) Now my whole feed is etymologists and philosophers (just kidding, there are also capybaras.)
Something I've had to do to withdraw out of the hold of social media algorithms is to put anything using the internet or social media on my desktop computer, and use my phone for communications, personal photos, and keeping notes. However like you've pointed out in your article, I do still get left in the dust in my social circles. It's funny how ingrained social media is for communications now. My friends know I don't have things like Facebook, but I definitely have to show lots of initiative to ask for updates on how people are doing, because it doesn't even occur to them that there's ways to share personal news with friends outside of social media. It's a trend I hope to see change soon.
You have consistently relevant and well-structured commentary on etymology and linguistics. Even the language used for social media is both robotic and gross, 'sludge' 'algorithm' 'slop' 'my feed'. Like you addressed, leaving makes you feel left out. I'm not up to date on trends among people my age anymore, but I'm also no longer entertained or feigning entertainment at endless video and photo scrolls. It's simply not fun once you leave, but you also must accept a certain level of social deprivation for a bit while rebuilding friendships outside of back and forth videos on tiktok or instagram.
I'm a senior in highschool, and I haven't had tiktok since around november. I used to go on it on my laptop, but like the previous article said, it's a less entrapping experience- however, despite how poorly it works on my computer, it's still very addictive, hence why I blocked the website on there. I don't have instagram on my phone either, and the amount of jokes that are made about me being a grandma or a ludite are kind of insane. I take them lightly, of course, especially since I don't want to be the only annoying person shaming everyone for being on social media and reminding people that they're participating in an attention economy and etc etc; however, it's crazy how little people seem to think critically about how much content they're passively consuming. My two best friends at school (though I love them and they're incredible) literally do not have hobbies beyond media consumption. Whenever I vaguely mention something like this, it's always met with some sort of "haha okay hippie" response, which makes me insane because does this not seem monotonously world ending to you??? you don't feel like you're one of the humans in wall-e???? social media has rotted me to my core, I got up one time in december to watch the sunrise and I was so offput by the several minutes of media-less silence that I had a breakdown. I thought addiction felt similarly disgustingly inavoidable to everyone, but people seem fine with it. I know many people who's personalities and humor is so diluted and painstakenly formatted after the patterns of an online identity, so determined to be perceived a certain way that they've worn away at what may have actually made them happy until theres no "real" version of themselves, just curated based on what they've stolen as 'cool' or 'them' online.
I'm left entirely out of the loop and immediately ruled out of many larger conversations because of my lack of social media- the thing is, I'm still plugged into the internet near-constantly through youtube or spotify, which I'm also trying to cut down on because it makes me feel like shit (i have a giant piece of butcher paper on my wall that says 'REVEL IN THE ANALOG' whihc i stole from a podcast i listen to, it's my main 2025 resolution) but the absence of algorithmic content in my life creates seperation between me and my peers. Like, because our online selves are so intrinsically, cyborg-ly linked to our "true" selves (or so we think, our "true" selves are not defined by what we are fed), the economy of shared internet knowledge shows your connection and closeness with people in real life. If you make a vaguely niche reference and somebody understands it, it indicates you both have similar algorithms, aka similar online personas, aka similar humor and interests and selves. We have a hard time realizing connections apart from how similar our codes are, like it's a cheat to finding someone who thinks similarly- algorithms breed independence to make us feel uniquely funny or weird or different, when the same audios and jokes and media are circulated and build upon their predecessors to create new things to reference like the slow formation of a brainrotted stalagmite.
Love the article. What if I’ve chosen to opt out, what does life look like for me as a Gen Z with no accounts on any Social media but LinkedIn😭…How do we congregate?
This is cool stuff, and gives some explanation to what I have been trying to figure out when it comes to algorithms and their control over my thoughts and sense of what's real freedom. Some of my spirals are mentioned here: https://chaosandpoetry.substack.com/p/i-am-my-algorithm
here in Brasil we passed a law that prohibited children from using smartphones during their stay at the school entirely so they need to leave it at home and it started a trend on X about teachers telling us about the crazy stuff thats going on since the block like people bringing musical instruments, doing beyblade battles or even just taming a big lizard we have here called kamaleao and put it on a leash, imagine if we also did that to adults
that sounds really fun
You're feeding us with these posts lately King. Praise the alogrithm for bringing your content to me in the first place 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
But in all seriousness, it is increasingly concerning the way in which many people's personal identities now-a-days feels like it relies on their algorithm that they have "built brick by brick".
As someone who has BPD and struggles with defining my own personal identity due to it, I have noticed that in recent years a lot of the drastic shifts I made in trying to define myself were based on different algorithmic rabbitholes social media took me down. A shift in my social media habits meant a shift in who I was. It really makes me ask just where the line is drawn.
People have defined themselves by their interests for as long as humans have existed, but it feels like with the increase of micro-trends and micro-sub-cultures that the amount of interests someone is expected to pick up has drastically increased. You can no longer just be someone who is into crafts, or D&D, or baking. You have to curate your personality like an instagram profile or a pinterest board, building up algrothimically generated blocks of personality until you feel you have reached a certain aesthetic.
As human as it is to define ourselves into different groups, social media has made it feel exhaustive and tiring. The real kicker is that these groups aren't actually too different. Most of them still are partaking in the same activities, consuming the same amount of product, and experiencing the same routines. Social media has somehow made it seem like we all have niche specific differences from each other while also getting us to all act in incredibly the same way.
I'm really looking forward to reading Algospeak. Will there be any printed copies available in the UK?
Thank you! Yes, there will be a UK version
Great discussion— and of course I and most those who read your Substack found you through the algorithmic feed (in my case, your Instagram, carted over from TikTok.) Now my whole feed is etymologists and philosophers (just kidding, there are also capybaras.)
Something I've had to do to withdraw out of the hold of social media algorithms is to put anything using the internet or social media on my desktop computer, and use my phone for communications, personal photos, and keeping notes. However like you've pointed out in your article, I do still get left in the dust in my social circles. It's funny how ingrained social media is for communications now. My friends know I don't have things like Facebook, but I definitely have to show lots of initiative to ask for updates on how people are doing, because it doesn't even occur to them that there's ways to share personal news with friends outside of social media. It's a trend I hope to see change soon.
You have consistently relevant and well-structured commentary on etymology and linguistics. Even the language used for social media is both robotic and gross, 'sludge' 'algorithm' 'slop' 'my feed'. Like you addressed, leaving makes you feel left out. I'm not up to date on trends among people my age anymore, but I'm also no longer entertained or feigning entertainment at endless video and photo scrolls. It's simply not fun once you leave, but you also must accept a certain level of social deprivation for a bit while rebuilding friendships outside of back and forth videos on tiktok or instagram.
I'm a senior in highschool, and I haven't had tiktok since around november. I used to go on it on my laptop, but like the previous article said, it's a less entrapping experience- however, despite how poorly it works on my computer, it's still very addictive, hence why I blocked the website on there. I don't have instagram on my phone either, and the amount of jokes that are made about me being a grandma or a ludite are kind of insane. I take them lightly, of course, especially since I don't want to be the only annoying person shaming everyone for being on social media and reminding people that they're participating in an attention economy and etc etc; however, it's crazy how little people seem to think critically about how much content they're passively consuming. My two best friends at school (though I love them and they're incredible) literally do not have hobbies beyond media consumption. Whenever I vaguely mention something like this, it's always met with some sort of "haha okay hippie" response, which makes me insane because does this not seem monotonously world ending to you??? you don't feel like you're one of the humans in wall-e???? social media has rotted me to my core, I got up one time in december to watch the sunrise and I was so offput by the several minutes of media-less silence that I had a breakdown. I thought addiction felt similarly disgustingly inavoidable to everyone, but people seem fine with it. I know many people who's personalities and humor is so diluted and painstakenly formatted after the patterns of an online identity, so determined to be perceived a certain way that they've worn away at what may have actually made them happy until theres no "real" version of themselves, just curated based on what they've stolen as 'cool' or 'them' online.
I'm left entirely out of the loop and immediately ruled out of many larger conversations because of my lack of social media- the thing is, I'm still plugged into the internet near-constantly through youtube or spotify, which I'm also trying to cut down on because it makes me feel like shit (i have a giant piece of butcher paper on my wall that says 'REVEL IN THE ANALOG' whihc i stole from a podcast i listen to, it's my main 2025 resolution) but the absence of algorithmic content in my life creates seperation between me and my peers. Like, because our online selves are so intrinsically, cyborg-ly linked to our "true" selves (or so we think, our "true" selves are not defined by what we are fed), the economy of shared internet knowledge shows your connection and closeness with people in real life. If you make a vaguely niche reference and somebody understands it, it indicates you both have similar algorithms, aka similar online personas, aka similar humor and interests and selves. We have a hard time realizing connections apart from how similar our codes are, like it's a cheat to finding someone who thinks similarly- algorithms breed independence to make us feel uniquely funny or weird or different, when the same audios and jokes and media are circulated and build upon their predecessors to create new things to reference like the slow formation of a brainrotted stalagmite.
sorry that was a lot
people think they’re immune, as if Ads don’t also work on them!
The only winning move is to cover you eyes and ears. Pick your distractions strategically.
if you guys are tired of being controlled by algorithms, considering getting a birdphone
The zombie apocalypse started in 2011 … people are just starting to notice now …
Remove “how” from the title of the post and u got the answer
Perfectly curated shots, tapping a product with manicured nails, engagement bait intros…when I see these elements in a video, I do my best to ignore.
Love the article. What if I’ve chosen to opt out, what does life look like for me as a Gen Z with no accounts on any Social media but LinkedIn😭…How do we congregate?
Wish I heard more about Adorno, article ran short :/
Bars. 🫡
Thank you. I agree. It keeps us yearning, wanting, angry and at war with one another other.
This is cool stuff, and gives some explanation to what I have been trying to figure out when it comes to algorithms and their control over my thoughts and sense of what's real freedom. Some of my spirals are mentioned here: https://chaosandpoetry.substack.com/p/i-am-my-algorithm