Algorithmic feeds have utterly taken over both how we create and consume culture. Visual artists have to succeed on Instagram to sell their work just as musicians have to tailor their songwriting to the TikTok feed to get audiences. On the consumer’s side, automated recommendations turn us into more passive listeners, watchers, and readers, thinking less about the culture we consume and having worse relationships with it as a result. The net result is a world of averages: ideas and aesthetics optimized for engagement that are as acceptable as possible to as many people as possible.
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