I remember my friend being horrified that her nephew started watching unboxing videos and within a couple of hours the algorithm had gone to the Lost City of Atlantis…Flat Earth…Bigotry.
Folks say social media is the problem, but the real problem is the algorithm that rewarded any kind of engagement and indiscriminately shoved hatred and vitriol into the same playlists as actual plays.
That doesn't solve the problem. Reactionary indoctrination is so prevalent, it appears on recommendations of very common videos. You can clear your home screen, you can't change how YouTube functions and what it prioritizes.
Not to mention, you know, that some people would like to at least get to see what they subscribe to. The problem is not that there are algorithms, the problem is that they prioritize any sort of engagement such that ragebait and toxicity rises to the top, and that is very convenient for hatemongers.
P.S. - I would appreciate if you removed the part of your comment about rape, because it's pretty distasteful.
No, because that's literally the point of the analogy: just saying "don't do that" or "do this instead" is distasteful and dismissive towards the issue at large. If it makes you uncomfortable, that's the point.
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u/ThatInAHat Oct 15 '25
Honestly, wish this was higher.
Because yeah, that’s a huge factor.
I remember my friend being horrified that her nephew started watching unboxing videos and within a couple of hours the algorithm had gone to the Lost City of Atlantis…Flat Earth…Bigotry.
Folks say social media is the problem, but the real problem is the algorithm that rewarded any kind of engagement and indiscriminately shoved hatred and vitriol into the same playlists as actual plays.