#algorithm anxiety

[amythystraine]

Algorithm Anxiety ~ Stop worrying about the algorithm

The internet has changed drastically over the last few years.  In the early days, it felt busy and exciting, and you felt very connected with all of these new people who suddenly appeared from all over the world.  We were all united on a journey within this fabulous new tool called the internet.  There was so much interaction.  It was so easy to promote your book, or your latest YouTube video, or posts on your social sites.  It was so easy to make new friends, to share experiences, to develop creative relationships.  It was FUN.

Then along came the algorithm.

Eveything changed.  The new world created within the internet felt like it was rapidly shrinking, it was being constricted.  Contact became more and more minimal, as though some invisible hand had come down to intervene between our connections.  It suddenly became taboo to talk about your new book, or a video, or a blog post, or a website.  They began calling it "self-promotion" and it was prohibited on more and more social media groups, social sites, and networks.  And then came the age of "paid promotion".  Give us your dollar and we'll spread your image and your opinions and your products and your services to a select few.

And always, lurking in the shadows was the algorithm, like some jealous and destructive aquaintance who wanted to confine your internet experience to your own computer.  We were cut off from all the people, and experiences, and social sites, and networks that we had enthusiastically built and cultivated and breathed to life.

This week I made a concious decision to stop worrying about the algorithm.  I have come to terms with the new reality of the internet and to understand that I cannot control it, but better yet, I will not allow it to control me.

I will write books because there is something I need to say, or proclaim, or reveal.  I will write books because I love writing, and I love holding the finished product in my hand, warmed by the sense of accomplishment.  I will continue to create videos because I derive pleasure in the process, and I derive satisfation at viewing the completed project.  I will continue blogging because my blog is as personal and dear to me as a physcial leather-bound, weathered, and tattered old journal.  I will step back from social sites and networks that feed me algorithmic posts and steal my time and attention.

I will stop worrying about the algorithm and enter the internet world on my own terms, in my own way, defining who I am, what I enjoy, and how I choose to interact with the world at large and people near and dear to me.  Within our blogs and videos and books and social connections, I will reclaim what I enjoy and love and watch and interact with.  

~ Amythyst

Algorithmic Anxiety is a real thing:

"Algorithm anxiety" refers to the feeling of unease or discomfort that arises from the perception that one's life or actions are being judged or controlled by opaque algorithms, often associated with online platforms where the decision-making process behind how content is presented or users are targeted is not fully understood by the individual; essentially, a fear of being negatively impacted by mysterious algorithmic systems.

Lack of transparency

A major contributor to algorithm anxiety is the lack of clarity regarding how algorithms operate, making it difficult to understand why certain outcomes occur.

Social Media impact

Many people experience this anxiety on platforms like Facebook or Instagram, worrying about how the algorithm might affect their visibility or engagement with their content.

Fear of control

The feeling that an algorithm is making decisions that significantly impact one's life, without their full understanding or agency, can lead to anxiety.

The Age of Algorithmic Anxiety by Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker

Do You Suffer from Algorithmic Anxiety? by Jay Clouse, LinkedIn

The Echoes of Algorithm and Anxiety  by Universiteit Leiden

[hplonesomeart]

Hey!! So turns out a video I made between a certain “well beloved but highly sensitive/emotionally reactive T.V” and an “orange haired inkling-turned-human” has managed to sweep my YouTube channel and accumulate 100k VIEWS!! THAT’S A LOT OF PEOPLE ACTUALLY?? My most widely viewed video EVER to exist in this moment in time?? AAAAA?? Not even mentioning the various comments and staggering increase in subs! It’s so much more then what I expected or even prepared for—might even be the most impactful thing to happen for me this year <3

…aside from graduating high school + the social connections I’ve been fortunate to make lol

BUT THE POINT IS I’d been closely monitoring the YouTube growth through the entirety of October. It’s make me smile like a dork, gawk in astonishment, dance frantically in my room from the energy boosts, and grow courage to stop being so selective/self-conscious with what I wish to share with the world! It’s kept my ambitions going!

I needed to find some way to celebrate the occasion and express my thanks—because I can’t NOT acknowledge this milestone jksjskp. Typically I try to avoid getting tunnel visioned focusing on the metrics/numbers. Mr. Puzzles had already demonstrated how much those things can mess with the minds of creatives. Caring too much about chasing views or placing your artistic value in attention seeking gets damaging. But at same time…it’s hard to deny the sense of pride the 100k achievement has filled me with. I understand that reaching 100k views doesn’t immediately make me any “better” or “worse” then I was before. I’m still just me! It only helps me feel seen by others—and that’s all I really needed. To hear some nice words & receive reminders that my ideas are cared about. So thank you SMG4 fandom for that, seriously thank you.

Please accept this Mr. Puzzle drawing as a way of sharing the happiness around. He’s so entertaining. Love him for simply existing. So glad we can all collectively be super attached to him (and the rest of the SMG4 cast of course). Can’t wait to see more incredible artworks from the fandom :)

Just incase anyone is confused by my vague description over which “animated video” I’m referring to here—hopefully this photo will help clarify lol. It’s this one!! Sorry about not outright stating the title at the start, I got carried away with writing!!

I’ve been in an odd place mentally when thinking about it. Wondering to myself if any of the attention is deserved considering it’s not even fully colored and could be dismissed as “low effort” content (despite taking several days making it). It’s easy to get into a trap of comparing yourself to others and questioning how much of the videos success is based on your skills, sheer algorithm luck, or only because you used popular characters and catered to a specific fandom. And then judging yourself by looking at other peoples videos. I’ve seen several artists post higher quality works then my own but it somehow gets less views. So why did mine succeed when others (who should have gotten just as much attention if not more) didn’t? Sometimes you feel like you’ve unfairly robbed them of that chance to be seen. However I’ve realized that I can’t ever expect views to be consistent—and comparing is pointless. So why worry about it or feel inadequate? I mean it’s pretty common for funny cat videos to go viral, so who am I to question the system lol. “Popular” YouTube videos can range from a passion project which took 7+ artists…to a clip of Toad singing Chandelier or a nonsensical Vine sketch. Anything can happen when it’s the internet! And just-so-happened my video was chosen. I should stay glad about that and get rid of all the overanalyzing. So that’s what I’ve chosen to do :)

[francesderwent]

“People ask me this all the time, they’re like what’s it like to be male, and I say well I don’t know, because I am male. It’s not an object to me, floating out there, that I can observe…it doesn’t work like that because in my experience, I can’t abstract maleness into an object apart from subjectively living it, occupying it, being it….And this can appear in an age of vanity as a great crisis. Because it means that within me there is a detachment between who I am and my image that I just can’t heal. I want to consume my own image, and I can’t, and it’s frustrating. It’s like, how can I occupy this maleness when I can’t even describe it because I’m so intimately close to it, I am it, that I can never possibly buy it off a shelf or take it and do seven steps to become it. You see this in heterosexual behavior as much as homosexual as much as transgenderism, which is men trying desperately trying to push their masculinity out into a number of products that they can buy in order to confirm that they’re men. Which you wouldn’t even do unless it was some crisis within yourself, like you needed it to become distant so you could consume it again so you can have a life-image correspondence. It’s like, alright, I'm buying beard oil and I’ve got a truck….Within this, women can appear as an object of envy, because your sex, it seems from my perspective, is an object. It’s not something that I have saturated with myself. It’s not the thing that I’ve already eaten and now I’m looking for something else. It’s the thing I don’t have….The point is that when the woman appears, she appears as an object in a way that maleness to the male can never appear. And so she appears as a possible object of consumption, and in that as salvation. Because then everything that’s weird and subjective about gender in the woman appears to be solid, whole, and understandable. I can investigate it. It has parts, it wears these clothes, it tends to do this sort of thing, it has this kind of voice—all are things that are objects to me. Not what’s flowing out of me, not what’s happening whether I would or no, it’s something out there.”

—Marc Barnes, Gender in a Big Beige World, starting around 1:43:19

[idkneverthoughtofit]

While reading vent posts around here, I realized that being annoying is a major source of worry among users. Honestly, I’m concerned about that too, but I have a theory:

With the rise of the internet, short-form content, and the algorithm, we are constantly pleased with what we see. We expect to be pleased—it’s a kind of hedonistic cycle. I believe this expectation extends to real-life socializing, where we assume people should always be perfectly pleasant, while also seeking approval as universally enjoyable.

However, we all know that’s simply impossible (even if you try really hard). The result? A growing aversion to real-life interactions—since people aren’t carefully curated like their online counterparts—and an unprecedented anxiety about how we are perceived by others.

I’m not a psychologist, so don’t take my word for it. But if you’re passionate about this fascinating field, I’d love to hear your thoughts. And if not, still—please share your opinion.

[britneyshakespeare]

do you ever feel like an absolute creep just for looking at somebody's social media profile and not interacting at all and it's like you feel like they can see you scrolling and reading and thinking and if you make one wrong move they know everything

[yepthatsacowalright]

Esther once again articulating the the thoughts in my brain about humans and modern communication perfectly.

[ceaselessims]

is it autistic to feel so heartbroken about the fact that someone said they don't want to hear about what you're interested and so you've already mentally decided to never talk about what you like in front of them ever again

[jumpyrope]

🇵🇸 🛑pleas don't scroll ‼️Hi, I hope you are well. My name is Mohammed Atallah, I live with my parents, six sisters, a little girl named Malak and a little boy named Ameer in North Gaza. I created this link to fund a bone graft in my left hand which was shot by an explosive bullet, to rebuild our destroyed home and to evacuate my family from Gaza to a safe place.And donate any amount to safe life .. I will appreciate your help❤️ Can you please help as much as you can . Press all buttons on my wall , I beg you to visit my page, view it, and donate via the link in the bio💔Donate and share widely 🆘🆘 Every euros will make a difference 🙏I urge you to donate. Even the smallest amount can make the biggest difference. Not only he needs to evacuate with his family, but he is in dire need for surgery! The IDF has shot his arm with an explosive bullet. Not a regular one. AN EXPLOSIVE ONE. So he needs to get it treated right away! Otherwise, he will get an infection and it may lead to amputation. WE DO NOT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN, DO WE DO?So contribute! Make sure to reblog and share his story if you are unable to do so.Help my family. War is devastating. There is nothing left to live. No schools, no universities, no home, and no dreams. All dreams have been shattered. I hope for help before it is too late Please share on Twitter and tumbler and Instagram The campaign has been documented @90-ghost 🍉

Looks legit to me, and I'd much rather support a scammer than shun a genuine person in need of help anyway. It hurts seeing how many posts like these there are, knowing that i can't help everyone.

But it's like the crabs on the beach story about the man tossing hundreds of crabs back into the water so they wouldn't die on land. There's too many crabs to save all of them, and someone asks him why he bothers when it doesn't make a difference. He tosses a crab into the water and replies, "it made a difference to that one."

I think we could all be a little more like that man in the story. Even a small difference is a difference.

[pixlpawz]

thank you for the love on my fursona forecast post🩷

[crossbackpoke-check]

when you get this ask could you perhaps maybe bless us with 5 of your fav songs (currently or of all time), and then send this ask to 5 of your mutuals who you think have good taste!

whipping out this old meme to say: sorry i’m basic and also have never once made a ‘favorites’ list without agonizing intensely 😭 so i narrowed it down to ‘favorite songs that have been used in hockey fancams’. HOWMSTEVER i also struggled with that. so. in no order are five songs shuffled from my fc songs playlist:

i cheated already i forgot we need to include anything hippo campus. yes i had to no i don’t even care which song (fc specific… bambi… semi-pro…) they’re my favorite band

sarah - alex g / astrid- glaive (*two songs but same vibes. it’s fine)

make out - julia nunes

junk of the heart (happy) - the kooks

pa’lante - hurray for the riffraff / thy mission - the garden (cheating again but these are both knox songs to me so they can be in one)

good old fashioned lover boy - queen

[xamaxenta]

Also i know its not a race and theres no rush but sometimes i wish i was a little faster at finishing art

[wickedzeevyln]

The Future Isn’t What It Used To Be

The film began with a black screen. A metal limb comes down like a hammer crushing a human skull, it almost got my brother and me leaping out of our seats. I remember the beating on my chest as the camera then faded in to reveal a post-apocalyptic wasteland littered with skulls, heaps of crackling fire, twisted metal, and hankering smoke and ash of a sky, sickly orange. This is the aftermath…

[queenmeve]

So many of my non-tumblr socials full of posts about people losing their pets or pics of dead animals that I’m considering just fucking deleting every single one of them

[bluemanticism]

CONFESSION I AM TERRIFIED OF TUMBLR

[hagravenholm]

Wow abysmal, shitty morning

[asiananeurysm]

🙃