The world of social media is increasingly filled with vulgar, violent, and demoralizing content. But is it? Or does the algorithm give you more of the content it believes engages you? If you linger on a video just a few seconds longer than another one, the YouTube algorithm thinks you want to watch more of such content. Because the ultimate goal of the YouTube algorithm is to keep us engaged and on the platform for as long as possible. And so, as time passes, your feeds get filled with more videos and shorts that feed into your “dark tendencies.”
Yes, we all have dark tendencies, but not all of us want to feed into those dark tendencies. However, scrolling through YouTube feeds, you spend a few moments more engaging with content that feeds into those dark tendencies than positive and empowering content that aligns with your moral ambitions. How can you combat this issue? How do you clear your feeds of the content that evokes and feeds into humanity’s darker nature?
This article will delve into the methods you can use to prevent your YouTube feed from empowering your darker nature and ensure you enjoy a more positive, empowering, and reassuring experience on social media.
Mindset
Your mindset is the main issue. The thoughts, emotions, and notions you harbor will have you stick to content that aligns with your mindset. The more negative your mindset, the more you will engage with content that reaffirms your thoughts, emotions, and notions. According to Dr. Carol Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford University: “Your view of yourself can determine everything. If you believe your qualities are unchangeable — the fixed mindset — you will want to prove yourself correct over and over rather than learn from your mistakes.” This includes your online behavior. If you approach social media positively, you are more likely to engage with uplifting content.
Habits
Believe it or not, the algorithm is just mirroring your habits and feeding you more of what it thinks will keep you engaged based on your previous behavior. Many YouTube videos are optimized to hook you in the first few seconds. They use specific images and openers to stop your scroll and catch your attention. After a while, you will observe patterns and know ahead of time what type of video this is. Most influencers and creators copy each other and replicate the content that gets the most engagement.
If you can change your habits based on the patterns you notice and continue scrolling, you can avoid the algorithm picking up on your engagement patterns with content you don’t align with — but you were baited and hooked into watching. Also, you should avoid browsing YouTube when tired or emotionally distressed. Your engagement during this time will impact the content in your feed when you are in a better mood later.
According to the American Psychological Association, regarding how emotions affect your decisions: “There is no question that emotion plays a major role in influencing many of our everyday cognitive and behavioral functions, including memory and decision-making.” That includes what you choose to watch online.
Actions
Beyond forming healthy social media habits, it is important to act accordingly. When you see content in your YouTube feed that you don’t like because it misaligns with your values and moral character, you can give it a thumbs down, essentially voting this content down. You can also click on the content setting of each video you encounter and select to see less of this type of content.
YouTube allows users to customize their feed by selecting “Not interested” or “Don’t recommend channel” options. End your social media sessions when you notice that you are hooked and not actively engaging based on your free will. This type of awareness may take some time to develop through consistent repetition. But by following the previous two steps of cultivating your mindset and habits, you will create the foundation and momentum to power your actions.
In summary
In summary, the content on your YouTube feed primarily reflects your mindset, habits, and actions. By cultivating a positive mindset, recognizing and changing your engagement habits, and taking proactive actions to filter out unwanted content, you can significantly improve the quality of your social media experience.
Social media channels and YouTube aren’t inherently evil. They are designed to mirror our behavior and inclinations and keep us engaged on the platform for as long as possible. The algorithms are not designed to make you happy; as an article by Hook Point about what the algorithm isn’t telling you points out: “The primary goal of algorithms is to keep users engaged.” Therefore, by being mindful of your behavior and making conscious choices about the content you engage with, you can ensure a more positive and fulfilling experience on these platforms.
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