Have you Seen this Video?
Taken June 18th, 2023
Deep dish pizza is fine
Feeling that your experience of social media does not accurately represent the world makes a lot of sense. With the adoption of algorithms to curate the content consumed by viewers, mainstream media has become an extremely individualized experience. This might explain why people struggle to connect with their friends and experience issues with feeling left out of their community. Intrigued by what others might be consuming daily, I posed a series of questions to a few close friends about their entertainment consumption habits to gain a better understanding of the broader picture.
Friend #1 likely represents the general population in terms of social media content usage. They believed that the social media experience for people around the country was generally the same. They stated that the threshold for considering that their friends might have consumed the same content is around three hundred thousand (300,000) views. If a piece of content has around one million (1,000,000) views, they would assume that random people around them have also seen the same video. They believed they had a great "bullshit detector" (this exact phrase was mentioned twice) and acknowledged that advertisements affected them.
Friend #2 is actively engaged in internet culture, working as a streamer with a deeper understanding of social media. They believed that the social media experience for most people around the country is completely different and catered specifically to each individual. The threshold for considering that their friends might have consumed the same content was between ten to fifty million (10,000,000-50,000,000) views. If a piece of content has around one hundred million (100,000,000) views, they would assume that random people around them have also seen the same video. Similar to Friend #1, they believed they had a great "bullshit detector," and acknowledged that advertisements had affected them.
Friend #3 is also actively engaged in internet culture but leans more towards appreciating it than creating content. They believed that the social media experience for people around the country was entirely different and tailored specifically to each person. They suggested that the threshold for considering their friends might have consumed the same content would be around five hundred million (500,000,000) views, but even then, they were skeptical. Their threshold for the rest of the world was almost impossible. They proceeded to show me a video with close to half a billion views that I had never seen, making a compelling case for their point. They hoped to decipher whether content was legitimate but remained skeptical, acknowledging that advertisements could influence them. Interestingly, they paid for services to avoid consuming any advertisements but enjoyed advertisements they felt were tailored to them through newsletters. This highlights the trustworthiness of written content compared to video content.
After conversing with my friends, or rather, test subjects (please forgive me, I love all of you), the conclusion I reached was that the social media bubble for most people is quite different, although people assume it is the same for everyone. I've realized that people's standards for the view count to be considered a viral video differ greatly, and they all worry about how advertisements might be affecting them. My friends also shared personal anecdotes about how they thought the content they were consuming was either influencing them or reflecting who they are. They also believed that advertisements could trigger impulsive behavior, subtly convincing them to visit an establishment simply because it is the first thing they remember when they are hungry.
So, what is the positive takeaway from all of this? I think it's cool that you can curate your experience on the internet. If you feel like being creative, productive, or even sad, you should be able to manifest that experience through a few ignores and a few upvotes. It could get dangerous if one decides to go down a rabbit hole of anger and frustration, but most people pivot as soon as they feel overwhelmed. The internet is full of extremely useful and completely wasteful content, and both are equally important. To decipher what might be good and bad, you need examples as reference points. Just make sure you don't spend too much time browsing; you know what I mean? It's okay to listen to your mother's annoying stories sometimes; it's part of life.