ORIGINAL CONTENT

I am fat, looking for a quick-fix weight loss supplement. And if the quick-fix doesn’t pan out then I will build a home gym and in the interim use shapewear to mold myself to the standard society has deemed physically appropriate. I am a young vegan mother looking for organic toys and Christian preschool, who is also looking for a online masters program in the fine arts, no wait, I am a seasoned man who needs supplements to enhance muscle mass. I have high interest in expensive food subscription boxes, love organic makeup, wants mensural underwear, love romance novels, purchase my wardrobe from home brew clothing brands, and perhaps most unfortunately, I am also inflicted with Cauliflower ear.

This is who I am according to the Facebook algorithm.

The Facebook algorithm is at a minimum somewhat inaccurate – at worst, laughable. As I sit here reviewing the ads for today, I rack my brain trying to recall what I could have possibly browsed that triggered an onslaught of romance novel ads. *shudders*

It occurred to me the hazards of these algorithms and how it can truly manipulate one’s perspective with just one-wrong-click. Once an end user clicks on one ad, one photo, one story, the algorithm awaiting in the shadows will begin to orchestrate similar ads, photos, and stories to bombard the end user’s news feed(s). Unless the end user is consciously aware of the system’s tendency to manipulate what is in the news feed and purposely & actively counter the AI by browsing other topics, the viscous cycle will only increase with ferocity.

It is foreseeable how the malleable or the lazy can be easily herded down the rabbit hole of conspiracies and be enveloped in a circle of unfounded rumors treated as facts. The malleable will take what they read at face value, questioning nothing, regardless of the source of the information. And from my experience being in various Facebook groups, the lazy will blindly rely on a bunch of strangers of varying degree of expertise instead of doing their own research from credible sources.

The lack of curiosity and the willingness to believe without question is a phenomena which I can’t quite comprehend. For me, I question everything and until I can confirm it for myself from multiple credible sources, I read everything with suspicion. Perhaps this is another benefit of being neglected as a child. I had to due without a parental figure to conveniently provide answers, instead I had to resort to finding the answers for myself, by myself.

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