The content feed that you ‘consume’ as you use your social media will affect your beliefs, thoughts and behaviours. Social media algorithms determine what you see on your social media based on your online behaviour. They aim to deliver what you want to see and weed out content that’s deemed irrelevant or low-quality. However, there are times that you view content that you do not prefer to see. Therefore, it is important to know how social media works and what you can actively do to control what you see on social media.
What controls the content that you see on Facebook, Instagram or other social media apps?
- Interest
Instagram looks at your past activity to gauge your potential interest. So, if there’s a certain genre of content that you engage with more frequently (e.g., food), Instagram might rank content in that genre (e.g., food, restaurants, etc.) higher on your feed.
- Timeliness
Social media wants to show you posts that are recent and, consequently, more relevant .According to a talk from Instagram’s Thomas Dimson, the Instagram algorithm re-orders only the new posts between your current visit and your last visit. For example, if you scroll through your Instagram timeline at 11 pm and then check it again at 9 am the next morning, Instagram would only sort the posts created in between your check-ins.
- Relationship
Content from your “best friends” likely rank higher on your feed. To determine who your best friends are, social media algorithm studies your past interactions to see which accounts you engage with most often.
- Following
If you follow thousands of social media accounts, the algorithm must sort through more content in order to decide what to show you each time you open up the app. This means users who follow large numbers of people might see less from each individual account, whereas users who follow just a few select accounts are likely to see more from their closest friends.
Considering some of the above factors, here are some suggestions on how you can control what you see on my social media applications.
- Be selective with who you accept as a friend/follower and be careful in choosing the accounts that you follow.
It will be wise to only add friends whom you know personally (not a friend’s friend) and to only follow accounts after checking through the content feed thoroughly. If the content of any social media accounts promotes harmful and destructive behaviour (e.g. self-harming, eating disorder) and illegal activities (e.g. underage smoking, drinking and engaging in sexual activity), you should not continue to follow the account(s). Also report to your teachers if you have seen any images of your school mates engaging in illegal activities because such content would also likely be viewed by others of the same age group.
Remember that the algorithms of the social media show you what they think you are interested in but you have the choice to actively control and review what appears on your content feed by ‘unfollowing’ certain accounts or ‘hide posts’ that have a negative impact on you. In addition, know that you are not obligated in any way to follow an account that is ‘following’ you.
- Practise your ‘filtering’ skills when browsing
When browsing social media platforms, you are presented with content of various themes. Some may not be age-appropriate. There are all sorts of content shared by people and what you are browsing may conflict with your values or beliefs. ‘Filter’ what is negative and harmful to you. Aim to absorb useful information and knowledge and be inspired and encouraged with positive content.
- Follow social media accounts that are actually beneficial for you
There are social media accounts that aim to provide content that benefit people as a whole. How about following some of these educational TikTok accounts that will improve your well-being?
Visit these websites to fill your social media feed with positive content:
- https://www.youth.gov.sg/Peek-Show/2020/10/TikTok-accounts-to-follow-for-useful-study-hacks
- https://www.youth.gov.sg/Peek-Show/2020/10/Five-Singapore-based-Instagram-accounts-that-will-improve-your-mental-well-being
What changes will you make to your social media accounts to impact others positively?
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