I think nowadays just about anyone that has ever picked up a phone has dealt with junk news. If we are being realistic, most of the stuff you see on the internet falls into this category. I can say for myself that I have been flooded with this stuff, especially in the past. I am not a real political person but around the time of the last presidential election there was a point where 75% of my feed was post tearing down Joe Biden. I just wanted to watch funny videos or sports highlights, it was ridiculous.
Algorithms are one of the scariest features on social media, at least in my opinion. It is weird to me how they have the ability to predict what I am going to look at in the future, and they are usually correct. I can say that on YouTube and Instagram, the algorithms know me very well. My Instagram feed is essentially just workout stuff, food, sports, my friends and a few celebrities, maybe a couple of memes in there as well. I try very hard to stay off instagram because I often find myself mindlessly scrolling because it is filling my brain with the few things that interest me. Youtube just knows what I am going to watch, recommending me sports and highlight videos in the morning and videos of my favorite fitness YouTubers at night. Why I like watching these videos at these times of the day? We will never know, maybe YouTube has made me that way.
Advertising on social media knows what I like and it is the most annoying thing ever. One time about a year ago now, I bought pre workout off of instagram from an ad that popped up on my feed. Til this day, I get ads for pre workout. It knows how to tempt me even though the purchase was a year ago. At the same time, it is the only thing I have ever bought off Instagram, so this may play a part, but none the less it is very annoying, and tempting. Whenever I click on an ad for a shirt or a piece of clothing, I will get that ad for weeks until they either give up or find something else that I am I treated in.
Exposure is one of the elements on news and social media that I do not often think about, making this article that much better of a read for me. One example of exposure from my own experience is the Joe Biden example that I used at the start of this blog. I am not a huge supporter of either Trump or Biden, but somehow my social media activity made the algorithms think I am a huge Trump supporter . I was being exposed to specifically anti Biden material. Very odd in hindsight. I am just so curious what activity of mine led to those results.
Business's need to be aware of these elements because at the end of the day, it can actually help them. Knowing how people, especially their customers work and think is a crucial element to a successful business. Allowing algorithms to support their material and shove it in peoples faces will ultimately make them much more profitable. If businesses can get their advertisements to work and actually keep people clicking and making purchases, then they need to know what exactly it is in these ads that attract people and pin down on that.
Individuals on the other hand need to be aware of these elements to protect themselves. They need to be aware that every one of their movements on social media is recorded and their information is constantly being logged. They must know that they are being exposed to only the information that they care about, and they are not getting the full story. The information they receive half the time is complete garbage and it is only put out there because they know people will stare at it and fall for it. Social Media can be a fun and useful tool, but it is important to know the dangers of it as well.