The way social media sees me
On a daily basis, I’m bombarded with cookie requests, demands for my profile, questions about my preferences, and pleas for my email address, all in the noble name of “improving my online experience.” I don’t know about you, but I deeply resent this. What it really improves is their ability to stuff me neatly into a box and pretend that box somehow represents the full complexity of a human being. I believe this relentless categorization actively limits my ability to get a 360-degree view of the world.
I like action thrillers and westerns. Fine. But once a streaming service decides that’s who I am, they promptly hide the competition baking shows I enjoy watching with my wife, as if admitting I like both gunfights and ganache would break their algorithms. In reality, I’ve enjoyed romcoms, Japanese anime, comedy, and a dozen other categories, but the streaming services force me to go gem-hunting because those don’t fit my “approved” profile. I resent their attempt to squeeze me into a narrow category and feed me cultural pablum like a lab rat with a credit card.
Yes, a lab rat with a credit card
I’ve mentioned before that the news media has become exceedingly biased in how they report the news. Because of that, I often turn to international sources just to figure out what the hell is actually happening in the US and the rest of the world. That usually means the Internet. And guess what? Google is categorizing me too. Of course it is.
A few quick glances at my browsing habits and surprise! Google correctly deduces that I think Trump has trashed America’s reputation and is doing his level best to kneecap democracy. The only apparent upside is his ice temperature IQ. Miraculously, almost every article Google shows me agrees with me. How comforting. How completely artificial.
It’s a shame that isn’t reality. Yes, his IQ appears to be hovering near the lower end of the scale, and I’m amazed Tony Soprano isn’t a cabinet member, but clearly somebody supports him. Otherwise, Congress would have already shown him the door. And yet, I see precious few positive articles about Trump. Google has helpfully curated my worldview so thoroughly that dissenting perspectives barely show up on my feed. That’s not enlightenment, that’s polarization. Once I show the slightest preference, the algorithms double down and make damn sure that’s all I ever see. My worldview doesn’t broaden; it narrows.
This isn’t unique to Google. It’s true of Apple, Facebook, X, Bluesky, and pretty much every social media platform pretending to be a neutral town square. The news outlets aren’t any better. They’re so desperate for ad impressions that they clickbait us into reading more articles that reinforce whatever bias they think will keep our eyeballs glued. Ever been in an auditorium when someone cranks the amp too high? That ear-splitting squeal is positive feedback. Congratulations, that’s modern media in a nutshell.
Automatic whisk, who knew?
And this rot isn’t limited to news or social media. Take Amazon. We’ve all bought something there only to be relentlessly stalked for days afterward by emails suggesting we buy slightly different versions of the exact same thing we already purchased. “AI,” my foot. That’s just Amazon shoving me into a category and hammering me with product suggestions until I either cave or scream.
Long ago, back when Fry’s still existed, I would drive up there to, as my wife lovingly put it, “smell the electronics.” Wandering those aisles was how I discovered trends, new products, and occasionally elegant solutions to problems I didn’t even know had solutions. It was discovery, not curation.
Yes, I know, back then I was limited to dial-up. But the Internet still existed, and it was actually useful for searching. Ever try to search for something you don’t even know exists? It’s an exercise in frustration, time-consuming, and rarely successful. Which brings us right back to categorization.
Once social media assigns me to its algorithmic buckets, I stop seeing the other side of the story, or any story that doesn’t align with my assigned identity. Exploration is replaced with reinforcement. Curiosity is replaced with certainty.
To be clear, I think Trump and his supporting cast of spineless GOP enablers have inflicted enormous damage on the US, our reputation, and our economy. I believe RFK Jr. is responsible for more human deaths than Josef Mengele. I don’t care how many opinion pieces they publish or speeches they give, their actions scream louder than any words ever could.
Even so, I want to believe there are still good people in the GOP. I want to believe nuance still exists. But now that social media has locked in my categories, I have to dig like an archaeologist just to find anything remotely positive about the GOP. Given the current state of affairs, it’s entirely possible those stories don’t exist anymore. Still, I hope I’m wrong.
Ever helpful, my Mother in Law pointed out I could turn to Fox or Newsmax for the other side of the story. Being a dutiful son in law I checked them out. Living in rural Texas, I’m used to tall tales but seeing some of the contortions they went through to deny video evidence from multiple cameras, I realized these people were absolute masters at distorting the truth. I wanted the other side of the story, not a trip to an alternate reality.
Interestingly enough, when I returned to a more factual website (Seeed Studio, if it matters), Google wanted me to reverify my account. It could have been coincidence but after my brief exposure to the Fox conspiracy headquarters, I’m certain the Google algorithms noticed the shift in my browsing habits and wanted to verify my account had not been hijacked.
Final thought, I’m more than a collection of attributes and I deeply resent these efforts to categorize me. My interests far exceed their categories and I firmly believe I’m not the only one.
And of course, today’s song from Songer… Gunfights and Ganache
© 2026, Byron Seastrunk. All rights reserved.
You are certainly not the only one. Glad to see you’re still writing!
The reality of the state of affairs is …… I believe is frightening and suspicious and disheartening. I don’t feel safe and mistrust so many stories no matter what the news channel. I follow people that speak with my value system. A few mentioned David Brooks for opinion, Fr. Richard Rohr, S.J a jesuit writer who aligns with my spiritual values, Fr. Greg Boyle also a S.J jesuit who accepts, welcomes diversive groups who are or were gang members. He brings me peace and understanding for every human being. And for comic relief I appreciate Jimmy Kimmel’s humor. Sometimes crosses the line, though I keep it to myself in how I absorb. So simply put. I’m skating above the ice and aware of the “thin ice” ahead as I move foreward.
Thank you for your comments. I’m not sure that David Brooks and I view the world the same way but then much of his writing is behind a paywall. Fr. Richard Rohr was a little more interesting and certainly not someone I would contradict. I might argue with him on a few points but that’s me. I appreciate you putting your thoughts here. Too many times people are concerned about the backlash they might receive. I know that’s why I quit posting on LinkedIn.