Big Tech, Algorithms & User Engagement

(This was a reply to a previous post which was since deleted and I would like to continue the discussion surrounding it, so if it seems like I am answering someone's question, it's because I originally was)

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Algorithms are a symptom of the larger 'brainrot' issue. They didn't just magically appear, they didn't just one day pop into your feed with zero oversight or intent. They were put there. They were coded by highly skilled & paid engineers, with millions upon millions of dollars invested into their research and development by Big Tech corporations. Although subtly implemented, they were completely intentional. Whether these companies were aware of the damage they would cause to the psyche is a little more ambiguous, and this is where the entire talking point becomes a bit convoluted. I'll use Meta as an example, the same thing applies to all the tech giants.

Meta's business model is selling ads, they claim they are able to predict potential buyers with higher accuracy than traditional marketing because they known their customer. They track as many metrics as possible, all to better understand the user and their wants and desires.

Although, there's a slight problem with this, people need to actually use their platforms in order for this entire business model to exist, as both an advertiser and consumer. They need people using their platform, so they can see ads, and potentially buy things, and they need advertisers, the people who pay them, to show people potential services and products they may be interested in.

Advertisers will throw money at anything with a chance for high exposure, so it's a no-brainer to advertise on social media, especially when companies such as Meta claim to host over 3 billion individual users! (on Instagram alone) All with their own personalised and catalogued interests, ready for any advertiser to rummage, so they can make a quick buck off of YOU.

So, now with this basic understanding of how Meta generates revenue, what stands out to you as being the weakest link? The end user. Meta is COMPLETELY reliant on having active users. So, purely from an economic perspective, what do you think is their wisest choice when it comes to maximising revenue? Hook the end user so you can serve them more, and more, and more, advertisements.

Aaaaaaand this is where our good friend, the premise of your question, 'The Algorithm', comes in to play! The entire (publicly known) purpose of these algorithms is to do one thing: increase user engagement. Basically, you can view an application like Instagram, as a CONSTANT surveillance machine. The second you open that app, tons of process are firing off behind the scenes, tracking every possible available metric, some basic examples of this include: post retention, video retention, likes, comments that you interact with, where on the screen you are touching. Hell, even the fucking angular rotation of your phone is being tracked at all times. (there are more which involve data inference that I won't get in to for the sake of clarity)

Meta uses all of these metrics to create a personal taste profile for each user, and with every swipe this recommendation algorithm grows in strength and confidence as to what to show you next. Basically the algo all boils down to:

Recommend post -> Gauge user response through tracked metrics -> Predict user engagement -> Recommend post -> Compare prediction to result -> Repeat.

For every post you've ever seen. For every active Instagram user. Needless to say, multiply any number by BILLIONS (of users) and you'll have a fuck-ton of data to work with, so it's pretty safe to say Meta has found effective ways of increasing and maintaining user engagement, especially when this is paired with some of the smartest nerds out of Silicon Valley AND billions of dollars in research and development.

Okay, cool, what does this have to do with the mental decline of humans, and how does it relate to algorithms?

This is where it gets interesting, this algorithm is indiscriminate in what it serves to the end user, it could be cat videos, general memes or something more sinister such as violent or extremist content, it doesn't have an understanding of WHAT it is showing, instead having an adept understanding of how you react. It's only goal is to optimise the data it receives, into a tangible, 'machine reward'. To clarify: It doesn't care about the input (what it shows you), only the output. (how you respond)

Maybe you can see now where this is heading. If content is rewarded purely based off of engagement metrics, then content that tricks or encourages the user into engaging in an emotional response is heavily favoured by the algorithm.

Now, you can imagine the algorithm as some real-life jerk, pushing your buttons in all different types of ways. Constantly trying to gauge ANY type of reaction out of you, and in real life, this would be exhausting right? Imagine having some dickhead constantly trying to piss you off in 100 different ways per day.

Well, for every post you see online, this mental reaction, the emotional response, is still occurring, regardless of how you interact with the post. I believe this constant prodding of emotional bandwidth that algorithms use to gauge metrics is the causation of "how algorithms messed up the human mind" and what causes so much social media related burn-out/depression/mental issues.

I will close by saying this though, hold Big Tech accountable. They know. Maybe they didn't know. But they do now. And have they changed anything? No. Do they use technology such as their engagement algorithm to shift blame from individuals on to a cold hearted machine? Yes.
Never forget, these algorithms didn't code themselves.

As for where this is going - that's for another post.
I hope this is all makes sense and I'm not describing things with too many layers of abstraction and I've just glossed over key concepts without a second thought. If you made it this far I appreciate you taking the time to read my writing.

I would love to hear your thoughts and individual experiences with these platforms.