Screw the Algorithm

 

You feel like what you have is not enough. Your beauty doesn’t stand out. You can't stand out in the crowd.

Look at the clothes you're wearing, they’re faded. Out of style. A whole month out of style. You're not taking care of yourself. Your face isn’t as perfect as clay. The face products you use aren’t from the expensive brands, they’re cheap. Wow. Your personality must be cheap too.

Money? You don’t have any? No vacation? Honestly, how do you even live?

A quiet room. A loud roar in your head. The social media algorithm has done its job. It's designed to manipulate emotions and create artificial needs, all in the name of profit. Fashion, sports, politics, society, religion, health, nothing is off-limits.

Today, let’s explore ideas and strategies to understand the game we’ve been pulled into, almost without consent, even if it feels otherwise.

---

A few years ago, when I was finishing my undergraduate studies, I completed my final project on why people use social networks. The top reason — by far — was connection. People want to stay in touch with loved ones, even from afar. The second reason was to keep up with new developments, new friends, updates, activity. Gossip was on the list too.

But nowhere in my research did anyone say they joined social media to receive targeted product offers or to be part of a psychological experiment designed to influence their behavior and consumption. Yet, that's exactly what happened.

Communication is and always will be the main reason people use social networks. Talking to people you love, reducing the feeling of missing them, exchanging views in groups, that’s human connection.

That’s your real need. The need to compare yourself to others, to chase trends, that's the part manufactured by advertising and profit. You have two options:

• Use mainstream social networks more intentionally, putting your real needs first.
• Or explore platforms like MeWe that protect your privacy and limit data exploitation.

I know the usual argument: But it doesn’t have as many users… It doesn’t have as much content… I can’t advertise my business or make a profit.
So what you’re really saying is: I can’t present myself the way others expect me to. I can’t chase the demands of life, the very ones that have been manipulated to keep me chasing.

Even if you reach that ideal point, the money, the perfect profile, the validation, the trends will shift. The algorithm will reset. You’ll feel empty again.

It’s not too late to reclaim your life. Change is painful and slow, but so is the endless cycle of chasing validation. Real change and freedom come from breaking the chains of profit and exploitation.

We talk about mental health, but we don’t realise how much of it is tied to the digital space. 

You are not your Instagram profile. You are not trends. You are not a haircut or a new dress. You are not research data. You are not their profit.

You are not a number.

If you don’t change the game, you’ll be stuck waiting for the next trend to decide if you’re worth more than a million other numbers, or not.