I watched an interesting video yesterday and there was a comment on the video that made me sad.
YouTube gets a bad reputation for the popular content it promotes, and many viewers criticize it for that. The popular content is unhealthy and focuses on entertainment and distraction rather than education and commitment. Then the viewers blame it on the “algorithm” for recommending them unhealthy videos. This isn’t limited to Youtube; Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter also get a bad rep. In fact, all of social media gets a bad rep for making us dumber.
But there are good videos that make you smarter. A few channels I subscribe to are Academy of Ideas, Big Think, and Dry Creek Wrangler School. On Twitter, there are a few accounts that make me ponder, such as @oldbooksguy, @tylerbruno05, @paulg, and @naval. I don’t get on Instagram or Tiktok, but there should be interesting accounts on both platforms.
The issue is not that they are not there, but that you have to find them. Once you start watching videos that make you think or click on the accounts you want to learn from, then the “algorithm” will change and you’ll be getting recommended content that makes you smarter, not dumber.
When I was on Instagram, my Explore page was filled with memes and funny videos. Now, it’s filled with unrealistic financial advice posts— not great, but better.
When you start viewing the content that helps you become who you want to be, the algorithm will guide you. Emerson famously said, “the universe is always conspiring to help us, if we only trust its wisdom.”
The algorithm is no different from the universe.
Here’s my inspiration for the day.