Owning Social Media Feeds

Some people maintain a hate/love/hate relationship with social media sites. 

"Some" is absolutely me, and maybe you. I would spend weeks being engaged only to throw up my hands and declare, “Never again!” There are good things about social media, but I kept feeling frustrated and irritated for an equal number of unfavorable reasons.

One of the most common triggers was the immediate effect of spying algorithms. If I clicked on an ad for gripping socks (these for the trampolinists in my life), these technological intruders would retarget my online presence immediately and persistently. If they had a voice, they’d say, ‘Hey, this guy is looking for socks. Include sock ads on every screen for, let's say, the next millennium!”  

I would be more forgiving if these intrusions stopped after a purchase. If they can see that I’m looking, why can’t they tell when I buy? Nope. The exhausting ads continue.

To eliminate these invaders, I would have to institute a lifelong digital detox and then take up residence in a remote area of Montana. Just so you know, I will never search for “nursing homes.”

Today, I decided to experiment. Read on, because if it’s successful, you might wish to do the same. 

The Premise

If these programs and scripts want to decide what I see, read, and hear, I will voluntarily surrender to their superiority. Nevertheless, I will take control as best I am able. I will deceive those clever algorithms, so they show me exactly what messages I want to see. It’s just a variation on the "if-you-cannot-beat-them-join-them” strategy.

The Action

I am self-aware enough to know that I need to see a bit of calming, a smattering of funny, a good deal of heart-warming, and an abundance of thought-provoking positive content. 

Like most people, I have more than one social media subscription. I have chosen Instagram as my test case. I'm ready so let the ‘spies’ have at it!

I will “train” Instagram with the goal of having no political, divisive, constitutional-crisis, angry, hate-filled, or people-bashing messages in my feed. Additionally, I will post only the same type of contact on this service. I have started the process. 

• I have spent hours clicking hearts, sharing, and copying links that will show up in my inbox with any post that fits the new self-declared goal for this platform. 
• I have unfollowed and cut most of the politically centered sites.
• I will continually look at my feed and work diligently to unfollow anything that does not fit with the declared subjects. This might take a little longer, but I’m in for the long haul. 

Some of those deleted accounts are still interesting. I will re-follow those content sites on another social media subscription. For now, when I am on any social media site other than Instagram, I will expect to see it all. 

The Anticipated Result

Instagram will be my online refuge. This will be my source for heart and soul healing. This will be the only site I look at before retiring for the night. I will no longer lie in bed unable to fall asleep because of a head full of anger and frustration, but will, with a calm and grateful heart, drift off in peaceful slumber.

The Follow-up

Understanding this is a longer-term project, I will continually examine the process. If this works well, perhaps I’ll separate all social media sites into specific, single-purpose sources.

Since Instagram is part of Meta, I am concerned about existing cross-pollination scripts between these commonly owned assets. This will prove interesting at a bare minimum.

The Request

If you find yourself exposed to content that fits my new Instagram requirements, please feel free to share it. 

If you tend toward posting uplifting messages, please let me know. I will be excited to follow your content.

Meanwhile, I’ll keep you informed as to my progress. Please do the same should you be experimenting on your own.

Peace to you and yours!

Sandals and a Stick Instagram Link