Becoming Ungovernable
A farewell letter to social media algorithms.
As we head toward the new year, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how I’ve spent my time over the last 12 months. I won’t get into the nitty gritty of it all, because WOW, what a shit show, am I right? But as I look back on the ways I’ve chosen to use my energy, I’ve got to admit: I’m a little disappointed with myself. This isn’t going to be a full ‘new year, new me’ type resolutions thing (yet!), but I do want to briefly touch on the reflections specifically centered around the topics of social media, “doomscrolling”, and something I’ve come to dread dealing with more and more each day: the algorithm.
For those who might not be familiar, pretty much every social media website or app you use has its own dedicated algorithm, which helps it figure out how to sort the content on that platform. Think of it like a tiny little invisible robot - let’s call him Al - that goes through everything constantly, deciding which things should be shown to you first (and sometimes which things should be shown to you at all.)
“But, wait, couldn’t that be a good thing?” you might ask, which is valid, because YES! There are lots of ways in which algorithms could make our online lives easier. They have the potential to vastly improve a person’s experience by making sure each user’s time spent on the app is tailored specifically to them and what they enjoy the most, while simultaneously omitting the things they actively avoid.
The main issue here is that most companies aren’t programming their algorithms to “improve the user experience” - they’re setting them up to maximize profits, which leads to a huge problem that I’ve not only seen other people struggle to deal with, but have had to struggle with myself: algorithmic bias - and in this case, it’s intentional.
Algorithmic bias is an error in the system that creates an unfair advantage for certain groups associated with that system. Remember Al, our little robot friend? Imagine him at his desk, sorting through the loads of posts coming into Instagram at any given moment. There’s so much, but Al is knows what he’s doing - he was given a very specific set of rules to follow by the company’s programmers, and he knows exactly how to take care of it all!
First, he’s got to make sure everything that’s bringing money in for the company itself takes priority. It doesn’t matter of BasicUser202 hates snakes and guacamole — the snake & guacamole makers have paid big bucks to get their content seen, so seen it shall be!
Next, Al sorts through to find all the content that highlights an in-app function or whatever particular feature the company wants to get more usage out of at the time. Ever wonder why so many creators lately have been complaining about having to make Reels? It’s because poor Al was told that Reels are more important and valuable than photo posts — not because the users asked for it, but because it in some way will benefit the company itself (most often, by additional ad revenue). Al also prioritizes things like people with already very high follower counts (especially ones who work directly with large brands, thus increasing visibility to the platform itself) and using certain sounds or music on your posts.
The very last priority for Al is sorting things into our feeds that are from accounts we might not interact with often because they show up less, which typically ends up being the very people we want to see more from! And after all of Al’s hard work, what are we left with?
Feeds filled with things we don’t want to see and don’t care about from people we don’t know - and absolutely nothing from the people we do.
It’s a cycle we’re stuck scrolling through into perpetuity unless we can manage to pry our exhausted eyes from our screens, or change the way we interact with them - and it’s this same frustrating cycle that causes creators to fall into pits of despair when something they’ve worked hard on gets absolutely no traction from the people they’d hoped would see it.
You learn that you have to post Reels when you hate creating them, overthink your video length and cut points, use in-app text and stickers but avoid looking “cluttered”, find audio that’s trending enough to be seen but not too trending, because then it’s get lost among thousands of others. There are rules on top of rules, tips from accounts dedicated solely to “helping you find & grow your audience” and “beating the algorithm”. And then there’s still a lot that’s just up to chance and luck regarding whether something will be seen outside of your normal circles or not, thus severely limiting your reach and ability to grow in any substantial way.
And if you do manage success and growth and visibility through all of that, there’s always the chance that some rich doofus with the emotional maturity of a spoon will buy out the website & ruin it all, you know?
Looking back on the last year, I noticed that I’d spent way too much of my time trying to post just the right thing at just the right time in the hopes that something would stick. I spent too much time first fighting the algorithm, and then trying to appease it. I posted and shared things I didn’t really care about just to satisfy rules that are only designed to add more coins to the already bulging pockets of billionaires and you know what?
I’m tired of it.
At some point, after a length of time spent doing something that doesn’t really serve you, you come to this crossroads where you get to ask yourself: do I want to continue with this? Do I want to keep doing something I don’t like, trying to shove a round peg in a square hole when doing so will only continue causing me stress or pain or frustration?
For me and Al, the answer is simple: I don’t.
How silly is it that I’ve been letting this little guy tell me what to do, or what to post? I expected a lot from the future as a kid who watched Star Trek religiously, but what I didn’t expect was that I’d be tripping over myself trying to please greedy corporate overlords and technology itself in 2023.
I firmly believe that I was meant to spend my days drawing and painting on a blanket in a pretty field of flowers next to an idyllic lake as my destiny, so this realization on the importance I’ve placed on something as trivial as whether a recent post didn’t get enough engagements is totally not aligning with me cosmically, if you know what I mean.
Instead of jumping through ever-changing hoops on demand to stay relevant in the eyes of an unforgiving, undependable algorithmic god, I’ll be directing my energies elsewhere. This isn’t to say that I’ll be deleting and avoiding my normal social media accounts entirely — let’s not be too hasty, right? But it does mean that my usage moving forward for those areas will be a lot more intentional, which is a change I’m hoping will bring a little more peace to my overall daily life.
Which is kind of where Substack comes in, actually.
I want a place where I can be myself, expressing my thoughts on the things that matter to me without the pressure of earning likes or paying my bills. I'm desperate for even the tiniest bit of solace from the dreaded algorithm, and from all the ways in which it makes me doubt myself. With that in mind, I came back to this Substack account that I opened over a year ago and decided to just go for it, write about what I want, and have fun!
I plan to share a combination of things here moving forward, and the content I share on Substack is & will continue to be free.
As a person who tends to try monetizing everything they do to make ends meet, this is kind of like a breath of fresh air for me! I do have paid subscriptions turned on here, but those are completely optional for anyone who might want to support financially and will not get you any additional content beyond what’s publicly available.
It’s important for me to be super clear & set proper expectations: this is a place for me to be myself completely - I’ve spent so long feeling as if I need to fit inside of a particular kind of box on social media, because to be too “all over the place” would mean the algorithm would have a harder time placing me. The freedom to just write casually about the things I care about here is something I’m very much looking forward to!
WHAT I’LL BE SHARING HERE
My official Monthly Newsletter, which will go out on the 1st of every month and include personal updates from the previous month, that month’s Patreon rewards (which will be one of the few times I promote that here), and a playlist of the songs I had on repeat the month prior. The first one will be up on January 1st to ring in the new year!
An end-of-month recap of everything I read & watched, with my short, unfiltered opinions/thoughts on everything.
Introspective writings (similar to most of this post) about things like social media, mental health, being Autistic, writing, self-publishing, things that have influenced me, etc.
Fun list-based recommendation articles.
Annual recaps of the best movies, books, tv shows, & video games I enjoyed that year.
WHAT I WON’T BE SHARING HERE
I won’t be using this as a space to share my normal art or commissions very often. My Instagram and my Patreon are the two places my art and illustration are the primary focus - finished, favorite works on IG, and exclusive things for Patrons. That said, I will be making all my own artwork for my posts - like the two things above that I drew specifically for this!! If you’d like to see my other art, make sure to follow me in those other places.
Here are a few relevant links:
So, what next? I have a few other posts prepped before the end of the year here, and then I hope to continue sharing regular moving forward. If you felt so inclined as to subscribe and follow along, I’d be grateful - but even if you’re just stopping by, I appreciate you being here & would love to hear from you!
♡ Cassie
This is an awesome post! I also felt disillusioned with social media lately and I wanted to have a place where I can just talk about my personal thoughts without being shunned by the public. Here's to hoping that your substack is a success!