So until recently, I’ve had a setup to make sure I spend less time on instagram because their dark patterns make it way too easy for me to get stuck in the reels algorithm.
Recently I’ve been contemplating my attachment to my phone a lot, and as addicts contemplating quitting sometimes tend to do, I’ve upped my reels consumption and turned off that moderator.
Since then, I have been noticing the patterns of the reels algorithm, and some of them are really scary.
It knows when I think in my head, “ah this trend/song is addictive”, I will watch it every time, and start showing it to me a lot.
This is an attempt to document some of the patterns I’m seeing.
Anecdote 1
The Lightning McQueen reel where it says XXX hit by lightning, but actually it’s lightning mcqueen.
- it knows when to show you random reels
- when you have seen enough examples of those to understand an exception to the rule reel joke
- when to show you the ah you’re tired of this reel reel
Anecdote 2
Pedro Pedro Pedro The lil spinning raccoon. I saw it once or twice, and I remember thinking, “Ah, this one is really great”. After that time, I started seeing it’s variations popping up every 2nd or third reel. It knew exactly when I was hooked on to the meme, and started mainlining it to me.
It’s more addictive than any drug.
Anecdote 3
Cheen Tapak Dum Dum. I wonder how this thing escaped containment, but it’s all over the place.