The Algorithm to your Authentic Self

Its all a transaction

We are being consumed by the very media that we created, to consume, ourselves. We are essentially ‘transacting’ our time, energy, and presence to forces that do not serve us well. This extends far beyond social media, A.I., and pop culture; it dives into our very nature as humans. We choose limitation; inhibiting ourselves by lacking awareness and ownership over our own metacognition. 

Why are humans so distractible?

I am not entirely sure because I am no scientist- and when searching for data, I found that much of our access to backed research studies are incredibly faulty, and some don’t even actually exist! ( here is additional reading from a scientist who does exist). Furthermore, what makes research able to stand? What are the frameworks and fall throughs of even the tightest studies? My apologies, it appears I was a bit distracted, similarly to essentially all humans…

Presumably, our innate focus and attention could span back to ancient days of humanity, where perceived danger was high and ‘distractibility’ or a light attention span was crucial in keeping our hunting and gathering ancestors alive. As modern day technology advances, we may no longer perceive daily activities as incredibly dangerous, but we are distracted nonetheless. ‘Perception’ is key here, and I would argue that the world is equally as dangerous, but the danger has shifted from our immediate safety to  the sacredness of our humanity.  It is our mental health, spirituality, creativity, community, and overall humanness that is being threatened in replacement. 

How do we combat? My story. 

The grim reality is that our world is working against us and the probability of powerful sources’ leveraging our distractibility and overconsumption to create a population of narrow-minded slaves is quite high. We can drivel about the variety of positive impacts offered by technology and how to utilize social media to our favor. And yes, I recognize that the point made was completely my opinion, which teeters on conspiracy, but do you disagree?

We all have our vices, myself included. I have had a shaky relationship with social media, which began the moment I created a Facebook in 2010. The desire for excessive approval and affirmation, inherent in a teenager, (and most adults, if we’re being honest with ourselves) entangled with insurmountable access to streams of unattainable realities is a wicked combination for an adolescent. I found I continuously compared myself against the elusive images and realities present on the internet for 10+ years until I finally deactivated my primary social media accounts in 2020. 

I immediately noticed a change in my mental health and presence. I had gone from constant media consumption, negative self-talk, depression, and wasted time, to experiencing. My interest in yoga, cooking, deepening relationships, reading, and seeking new knowledge skyrocketed. I began to paint, sing, accept, and fall in love with ‘me’; who I am at my core.  By removing the noise, the possibility to obtain a presence and sense of self felt finally reachable. 

As with anything that requires intentionality, I still struggle with self deprecating thoughts, but the empowerment of awareness and finding the tools to combat those feelings has begun working in my favor. 

I decided to redownload Instagram in early 2023 to document my travels. At first I was amused again by the memes and fitness accounts, viewing images of unattainable filtered faces and bodies, reading content not conducive to my spiritual health. After some thought, it dawned on me that the medium of social media is all just an algorithm, it's spitting back at me what I am searching for, it is presenting to me a mirror. This leads to my ‘saving grace’...shark videos. 

What is working for me, and what could work for you: 

Why are we talking about shark videos right now? I will explain, stay with me. Shark content allows me to experience social media in a way that does not sacrifice my mental health. If my entire feed is shark videos, I find I stay online less, post about what I want, view what is helpful to me (obviously sharks are incredibly helpful in everyday life), with the ongoing awareness that the images and content I click on directly impact me. 

My point isn’t to convince everyone that shark videos are the way. My point is to hopefully build awareness that could help others. To enable you to find your ‘shark videos’, creating space for yourself, your own healing, your own mind, and to get you thinking about yourself in the truest and purest form. What brings you the most joy? How can you implement simple pleasures more often to create a life that is healing and powerful?

You are the influencer!

The algorithms are up to you, with the power and self-control to do what is right for you. You are enabled and equipped with the tools to succeed. Dedicating a time to think about what is conducive to your life, and how media and technology might be shaping the way you view yourself and the world could be a starting point. I can’t tell anyone how to live or give a ‘10 tips to change your life’, because we are vastly different and there is no one-size-fits-all to mental health. It’s your journey, you are the influencer and advocate, I can only share what has been beneficial for me.

I hope to shed light on the fact that we are beings with choices; we may not be able to escape the realities of this world, but we can limit and filter what we are being influenced by. We can be smarter than algorithms and use our technological advances to promote what is parallel to our goals, thus helping us feel and become more internally aligned. This spans much broader than social media; it is all mediums we give permission to access us.  

Thank you for forging the time to read this! If you take away nothing else, I hope the mental image of me consciously choosing to click on videos of sharks for hours at a time provides some form of amusement.