I’m Over Medium’s Algorithm
I want to wrestle back control of my own thoughts!
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Yes, I occasionally write on Medium, and I love the creative outlet. However, like many members here, I visit the site primarily to read. I loved the platform when I joined a lifetime ago, in 2019. It was a fantastic way to learn about people who walked a very different path than mine.
It is a monetized platform, and as such, it is constantly changing. Since I never had any real goal of making significant money on the platform — I didn’t feel deeply invested in the changes until they started interfering with what I could find to read on the site. I thought it was intuitive. When I came across a writer that I found interesting, I would follow them, thinking that would make me more likely to see their work.
When I first noticed that most of my feed was filled with the same 3 or 4 writers, and I was becoming burned out on their content, I unfollowed them. That had zero effect on what was appearing on my feed. So, I set out to unfollow hundreds of writers. If anything, my feed seemed to grow even more restrictive.
Predominantly, my Medium feed is filled with race issues and various forms of “the sky is falling.” To be transparent, I honestly believe the sky might be falling. However, just because I read an article about the subject doesn’t mean I want a steady diet of doom and gloom. I am now cautious about what I will read because I know I may be spotted and stalked by the algorithm if I read or interact with an article.
Algorithms are taking over our thought processes
On every social media platform, algorithms are hard at work identifying our thoughts, interests, and affiliations. We are then fed a steady diet based on the algorithm’s determination of what we like. I am over it — so very OVER IT.
I’m a conservative, but I want to read the thoughts and ideas of liberals. I’m white, but with three biracial kids, I care about race issues in our country. In other words, I’m tired of being shoved into a box and unable to explore things outside my “comfort zone.”
I honestly think it is a symptom of a more significant problem. Algorithms obviously work since companies are shelling out millions…
