Having divested from any kind of algo in my day-to-day for a long time now, I can't recommend the alternatives enough. Get writing from writers (books, magazines, substack), music from music communities (online radio shows, labels I like, writers), film suggestions from people who think about film instead of what an app is pushing at me, etc. There's lots of great internet away from the platforms, and the digging continues...
Thank you. As someone with eclectic tastes, I've rarely, if ever, found algorithms helpful. (Yes, there have been exceptions.) Now that I no longer use social media as a news source at all, I don't feel any less informed — although that takes work, work that I fear most people don't want to do. And, obviously, if one doesn't put any work into informing oneself, then misinformation flourishes. But "clocking in" to the daily outrage cycle is a complete waste of time and I feel much better without it.
Love the Hazlitt piece and glad to read some succinct writing on this. Like many others, these ideas have been circulating in my head for a minute now. I used to feel like Spotify showed me a bunch of cool artists that I wouldn’t have otherwise found, but now most of their playlists feel like they are cycling the same handful of songs by the same handful of artists that I already like. Definitely miss “the good old days”...
The music thing is wild and right on. I have a problem with the stat about how much 'catalogue' we listen to though. I feel like that's actually a GOOD thing. To me, it makes the music less disposable. Listening to something other than just the newest releases indicates that maybe we're resisting the forced consumption of New Music Friday. It takes me years sometimes to clue into albums because there simply are too many. The industry is obsessed with immediate adoption of content, but the truth is what matters is if something has any kind of legs or resonance going forward. I'm always bouncing between old and new so it doesn't feel like work all the time and it makes me much happier.
"As a result of social media’s tendency to regularly transform into a minefield of disinformation, anger and unqualified opinions"
But... that's literally what it was back when it was "fun". It was up to you to navigate it all. Now we have corporations attempting to homogenize everything like it was network TV — that's why it's not fun anymore. All their attempts at controlling conversation online has only made people more angry — and the people who couldn't hang before now cower behind the establishment's apron strings.
It's basically like having a step-parent show up and try controlling your life, and suddenly half your siblings take their side because now they get to control you, too... but not by interacting with you and convincing you that their ideas are superior, but by pleading to step-daddy establishment to silence and punish you.
Having divested from any kind of algo in my day-to-day for a long time now, I can't recommend the alternatives enough. Get writing from writers (books, magazines, substack), music from music communities (online radio shows, labels I like, writers), film suggestions from people who think about film instead of what an app is pushing at me, etc. There's lots of great internet away from the platforms, and the digging continues...
Thank you. As someone with eclectic tastes, I've rarely, if ever, found algorithms helpful. (Yes, there have been exceptions.) Now that I no longer use social media as a news source at all, I don't feel any less informed — although that takes work, work that I fear most people don't want to do. And, obviously, if one doesn't put any work into informing oneself, then misinformation flourishes. But "clocking in" to the daily outrage cycle is a complete waste of time and I feel much better without it.
Love the Hazlitt piece and glad to read some succinct writing on this. Like many others, these ideas have been circulating in my head for a minute now. I used to feel like Spotify showed me a bunch of cool artists that I wouldn’t have otherwise found, but now most of their playlists feel like they are cycling the same handful of songs by the same handful of artists that I already like. Definitely miss “the good old days”...
Yes. To all of this.
The music thing is wild and right on. I have a problem with the stat about how much 'catalogue' we listen to though. I feel like that's actually a GOOD thing. To me, it makes the music less disposable. Listening to something other than just the newest releases indicates that maybe we're resisting the forced consumption of New Music Friday. It takes me years sometimes to clue into albums because there simply are too many. The industry is obsessed with immediate adoption of content, but the truth is what matters is if something has any kind of legs or resonance going forward. I'm always bouncing between old and new so it doesn't feel like work all the time and it makes me much happier.
"As a result of social media’s tendency to regularly transform into a minefield of disinformation, anger and unqualified opinions"
But... that's literally what it was back when it was "fun". It was up to you to navigate it all. Now we have corporations attempting to homogenize everything like it was network TV — that's why it's not fun anymore. All their attempts at controlling conversation online has only made people more angry — and the people who couldn't hang before now cower behind the establishment's apron strings.
It's basically like having a step-parent show up and try controlling your life, and suddenly half your siblings take their side because now they get to control you, too... but not by interacting with you and convincing you that their ideas are superior, but by pleading to step-daddy establishment to silence and punish you.