Each of us is part of an interpretive community that gives us a particular way of reading a text
I’m not sure why I’m sharing this post other than it reaffirms my commitment to stay off social networks such as X, Instagram, and TikTok. The suggestions towards the end (use RSS! embrace federated social networks! switch to Linux/GrapheneOS/Signal!) I’ve already embraced, but the thing is that unless a significant minority of people do this, it makes very little difference on the rest of the world, which is effectively powered by algorithm.
Literary theorist Stanley Fish argued that we as individuals interpret any given text (in this case, social media content) “because each of us is part of an interpretive community that gives us a particular way of reading a text.” That interpretive community usually isn’t there when we are fed what the algorithm thinks we’ll consume. We may share something thinking that people like us will see it share their opinions. However, because of the way that algorithms work, engagement is the main driver of a post’s visibility; so here comes 10 million people who have no clue of the context on that thought you shared about your niche interest.
Suddenly your post is full of over-the-top jokes and non-content-related quips from members of a completely random mix of audiences. As the algorithm prioritizes engagement, your post’s new mixing pot of clueless audiences outnumbers the genuinely-interested audience of your own niche corner of the internet (if that even exists anymore), and they comment about everything BUT the content.
Source: tékhnē.dev
Image: Kevin Grieve