Have you ever liked one random video on your social media feed, and then suddenly your ENTIRE scroll is filled with the same kind of content? Because that literally happened to me this week, and it honestly blew my mind how quickly the algorithm caught on and changed what it was showing me.
I was scrolling through Instagram reels one night, just watching random stuff like funny clips, random outfit videos, and the occasional cooking tutorial that I saw because it looked delicious. It was all pretty normal and all over the place. I came across a How I Met Your Mother clip, and of course I watched it. I LOVE that show more than anything in this world, so I sent it to my sister and liked it. Within a few minutes, my entire feed transformed into a HIMYM world as if I was literally watching the show. Every single reel was either a How I Met Your Mother scene, a (kinda sad) fan edit, or a ranking of “best Barney Stinson moments.” It was like Instagram had decided that this was now my entire personality, and honestly, I did not mind it. It probably didn’t help that I liked and watched every single one of them, intensifying the app’s thoughts that I enjoyed the videos, but I did.
The same exact thing happened on TikTok that day. I liked and saved a couple of videos about photography, one being about sports photography, and the other showed someone taking photos at a college football game. Within seconds, my For You Page turned into a full-on photography bootcamp, and once again, I was loving it. I was getting camera gear reviews, editing tutorials, and people arguing about different Canon cameras. I have always loved sports photography and have taken a step back into this world, so seeing all of these videos was honestly perfect timing. Shout out Tik TikTok.
At first, it was kind of cool because I was like, “wow my apps really get me.” But then I realized how fast it actually happened and how completely my feed changed into what it was assuming I was enjoying. It made me think about how much control these apps actually have over what we see and believe.
Every time we like, share, comment, or even pause for a second longer on a video, the algorithm takes note and instantly changes what it is displaying to you. TikTok and Instagram both use engagement-based algorithms that learn what holds our attention, then feed us A LOT more of it. The goal isn’t really to make us smarter or more informed, but it’s to keep us scrolling (and honestly I did keep scrolling).
BUT IT WORKS SO WELL. All of these social media apps are designed to make sure that we never get bored, and I am never bored when I am scrolling away. When I liked that How I Met Your Mother video, Instagram didn’t just think, “she likes this show.” It also thought, “this kind of content keeps her here longer, which is good for us” and immediately flooded my feed with similar videos to hold my attention.
It’s the exact same with TikTok, and honestly, a little bit better. Its algorithm is especially aggressive because it uses so many signals, not just what you like or share, but how long you watch something, what sounds you interact with, even what you skip. If you watch one or two videos about photography or perchance look up photography tips, TikTok assumes you want more and more and more of it.
That might sound very harmless when it’s just about TV shows or hobbies, but this same system applies to things like news, politics, and world events. If you watch one video about a certain conspiracy theory or maybe a controversial issue, your feed can very QUICKLY fill up with more and more extreme versions of that exact same content. Suddenly, it feels like everyone is talking about it, even when that is not really true.
This constant cycle of overly personalized content can trap people inside their own little bubbles. You will start seeing the same ideas and opinions over and over, which makes them feel more believable while also making you think that everyone also has these opinions. For example, if someone starts liking videos that say a certain health myth is true, they’ll be shown more videos that support it, and almost none that challenge it or go against it in any way. That misinformation starts to feel like a straight-up fact because it’s literally all that they’re seeing.
The really scary part is that most of us don’t even realize that it’s happening. We think we’re literally just scrolling online when really, we’re being subtly guided by an algorithm that’s deciding EXACTLY what we should see next. It doesn’t mean social media is evil, because I love social media, but it does mean we need to understand how exactly it works if we want to use it wisely and not be a part of this major misinformation epidemic.
To try and really test how fast the algorithm reacts, I actually did a little experiment, kind of sparked by the sudden change into How I Met Your Mother and photography. I spent one day scrolling through my TikTok and Instagram like usual and just liking whatever I genuinely enjoyed. This changed the algorithm, and it almost reset, and there didn’t seem to be a certain niche thrown upon me. Later that day, I decided to focus only on one topic each and see how fast they picked it up.On Instagram, I went all in on How I Met Your Mother. I liked probably ten different clips in a row, sent some to my sister, and even searched the hashtag to really lock in that I like HIMYM. Within literally 10 minutes, my entire reels page was full of edits, memes, fan pages, and everything to do with the show. The only thing that broke through the HIMYM content was a single reel about honestly some inappropriate things that I will not be saying, but just know it wasn’t about HIMYM. Please enjoy the many screenshots I took. You can also see one where it includes an “interested?” button at the bottom, which I have honestly never really seen before so at least it asks sometimes if you like what you are seeing?
Then on TikTok, I switched to sports photography. I liked every sports photo edits, tutorials, and behind-the-scenes videos from photographers at different levels of games. Within MINUTES, my FYP transformed into photography content and nothing else. It was like TikTok had wiped my entire old personality and replaced it with “future sports photographer.” I was not even mad because I want to get back into that world, and I feel like I actually learned a lot about it from this little liking spree.
Here is a bunch of the tiktoks that came over my FYP, and its so interesting to see the suggested searches and how it just READ my mind and knew what I was wanting to see next.
I think the craziest part about this all was how quickly it happened. I didn’t even have to follow anyone or watch for hours because the algorithm adapted almost INSTANTLY. I truly cannot explain that it was within seconds that every single scroll was either HIMYM or photography, with literally one like of a singular video. That’s when it hit me how easily it could shape people’s opinions about MUCH more serious things, like politics or current events. I think that kind of happened around COVID and the last election, and it almost made social media miserable because there was way too much going on.
Once you can understand how the algorithms work, I think you can actually use that knowledge to protect yourself and your peace of mind when you want to sit down and mindlessly scroll.
Here are my recommendations to scroll safely!
- Be aware of what exactly you are engaging with. Even watching a video all the way through tells the app you want more like it, and can mess up your entire feed. (Sometimes my feed changes because of this, and it makes scrolling so miserable)
- If your feed feels repetitive or annoying, search for new topics or creators to mix it up while also clicking “not interested” because THAT BUTTON WORKS. I click it a lot.
- Use your settings. Both TikTok and Instagram let you reset or manage all of your recommendations. Sometimes when mine gets a little weird, I need a reset and it is so refreshing.
DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING! It’s really so basic to say, but don’t believe everything you see online, and if you choose to, maybe look it up and fact-check it if you really do not know if it is true or not.
The point of this all isn’t to delete your apps (I am never deleting TikTok) or to stop liking stuff, it’s just about being more aware when you scroll and how intense these algorithms can really be. Pay attention to what’s happening instead of mindlessly going through your feed. For me, it’s mostly funny videos and How I Met Your Mother clips, which is very harmless, but if it ever got into something deeper and more serious, the algorithm could take you down a weird rabbit hole so unbelievably fast.
It’s so crazy how much these apps actually control what we see, even when the claim that they do not. They’re not just showing us random posts that make us laugh, but they’re shaping how we see the world and take in all kinds of content. What we think is important, what we care about, what we even believe sometimes literally all comes from what’s showing up on our screens on the daily.
And for my generation, social media is literally where we learn everything. News, trends, opinions, whatever you can possibly think of. I honestly use TikTok as more of a Doogle than actualy Google. So actually understanding how it works really matters and can effect how smartly we scroll.
So next time your feed starts getting a little too specific, stop for a sec and think about it. Why are you seeing this? What did you like or save that might have made it show up? Once you start noticing these patterns and how social media really works, it’s WAY easier not to get caught up in them.
Happy scrolling and happy last week of MCO 427!
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