Social media and its algorithms are the reason apps are so addictive. Content is generated for users off their statistics and then is built into filter bubbles. Here is why social media keeps you interacting with your feed constantly.
Social media algorithms separate content among users. These algorithms allow every user to access different content from their feed. Whether it be Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook, etc. All these social media companies provide algorithms based on how users interact with their feeds and who they follow, and how those users interact with their feeds. Also, filter bubbles are a huge part of these algorithms because filter bubbles groups users into certain content and will show you the same topics over and over again.
Algorithms from social media companies usually imply the same things. How long will a user interact with posts? Will the user like, comment, or share a certain post? Does the user have a mutual follower who interacts with certain posts? Most of all, is the content relevant? Ultimately providing more engagement. All this and more goes into social media algorithms and is the reason why these apps are so addictive.
Filter bubbles come in after algorithms. Filter bubbles are the content you enjoy the most and interact with, but that comes at a price. Once you are in filter bubbles, you will rarely see opposing content. For instance, if you love cute animal videos, you will never see gore content or animals being killed. I know that’s a harsh example, but everything is on social media, so deal with it. Another example is politics; if the system recognizes that you lean towards a certain party, all the political news you will receive will be from the party you engage with the most. This is detrimental because young Americans will lean towards a certain party and never get the chance to hear opposing viewpoints.
An example from my personal life is one of my friends started to see conspiracy theories on the internet and would constantly research them spending all his time going into depth about how these conspiracy theories might be true. Within a week of constantly looking into different theories, his whole feed was conspiracy theories. This is harmful because the more content you intake it will affect your personality and who you are. For months this friend of mine seemed to have become his own conspiracy theorist because of all the content he would intake. There is worse content out there to intake, and if people fall into those filter bubbles is detrimental to all of society.
So as we progress with social media, it is necessary for society to understand these algorithms and filter bubbles because most don’t. As time progresses, it’s important for people to understand why these apps are so addicting and why users constantly see the same content on a daily basis.
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