I just (sadly) realized yet another way the recommendation algorithms were so ruinous and limiting…
On that /r/ place, like here, I had my regular and favorite places to visit, and of course there are far more I’m NOT interested in, or annoy me, or worse. So I don’t visit those and all’s well with the world.
But I don’t live in a box, and once in a while, I see some interesting post and click on it – and here’s where the ruinous dread feeling comes from – realize now, after reading a random post that happens to be good in a place I generally dislike, the fuckers are gonna feed me shit like I foolishly paused in front of a crazy panhandler that’s now gonna trail me down the sidewalk and tell me tinfoil hat stories. AAAWWWWWW FUUUUUUCK.
On the fediverse, you can read a post and… NOTHING HAPPENS! You read a post! Whee! Freedom! No dread! And not automatically sign up for copious amounts of TRULY ANNOYING SHIT GARBAGE.
Sheesh.
That’s all. Thankyougoodnight.
I don’t think that’s true. Like, yes, priming is a real thing, the mere exposure effect is real, and the advertisement industry exists for a reason, but something you don’t pay attention to is unlikely to stick with you; the danger in algorithms is much more how they influence your emotions and your consumption patterns than how they inject your brain with unwanted thoughts