How to beat social media algorithms?

The trading volume of the global algorithm market amounted to about $11.7 billion in 2020, and is expected to reach about $26.3 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of 10.7% during this period, according to the platform "Fairfair Market Research". (Verified Market Research) recently.

Algorithms are considered the mainstay of the technological revolution that we are witnessing now in general and artificial intelligence in particular, which is a set of specific and sequential code and steps that a computer executes in order to achieve a specific task or solve a specific problem.

Algorithms are also the backbone on which the various social media platforms are built, and they are an inexhaustible gold mine for these platforms because of the fantastic profits they generate due to the volume of information and data they collect about the users and pioneers of these platforms, as this data is resold and exploited in the trade market The global electronic multi-billion dollar.

The global social networking platform market was valued at nearly $193 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 25.4% to reach about $940 billion by 2026, according to GlobeNewsWire . ) in her recent report.

The various social media platforms from TikTok to Twitter, through Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, do not impose any conditions on you for their use. You can navigate these platforms and interact with them without paying a single penny, but remember what the English proverb says, "If the product is free, you are the product."

Which is exactly what these platforms do, in exchange for their (free) services, they want to know everything about you, and they use algorithms for this purpose as part of their data collection strategy, and these algorithms are the ones that determine in advance the type of content that will appear to you based on your previous use, and the information that you collect non-stop.

Remember that these algorithms are constantly evaluating the way you act and your information and provide you with the content that they think you will want to see, and how you interact with it. interruption for you.

Algorithms are also a great way to keep you connected to social media platforms for long periods of time (how many hours do you spend on Facebook or Instagram each day), and they also help social media companies create better profiles of your interests. This includes information you post about yourself, your family, and friends, as well as information you post about the services they provide to you, and the sites you visit.

Simply, you can imagine these algorithms as the eye that never sleeps, watching you and spying on your most minute privacy.

But can these algorithms be overcome?

The answer is yes, and here is the way, according to what the “lifehacker” platform mentioned in a recent report.

Do not confirm the assumptions and information of the algorithm

It is common for social media platforms to suggest specific content for you, rather than finding things that you like yourself, for example, if you are a football fan, they will provide you with sites that publish the latest news about this sport, and if you are a fan of Kim Kardashian, for example, these platforms will provide you with the latest news Your beloved star, and so on, but if you are a fan of Mohamed Salah for example, and you open YouTube, you will find the page full of suggestions for the latest videos of this player, based on your previous watch history, yes, this can be useful and relieve you from the trouble of searching, but you will be in This exact moment is in the grip of the algorithms, which will keep you on the platform much longer than you originally intended, and in the meantime they will feed you ads that companies are making a lot of money for.

Our advice to you, do not accept what these platforms offer of sites and news, but search for what you want and not what you want is to watch, or read, and if you find something interesting in the suggestions, search for it manually and watch it from there, yes, the algorithm will continue to learn from your behavior , but you will not make things easy for her and those behind her.

Change interests while providing less information on your profile

This leads us to our next topic, if you can, change your interests table from time to time, rather than sorting them according to what the algorithm thinks is most important to you.

For example, if you are accustomed to following the latest sports news, which is your first interest, while your second interest is cinema news and your third interest is fashion, then change this list of interests, and do not accept what the algorithm offers through your direct interaction with what it offers you, do not train the algorithm Now, let them tire out behind you, and don't make things easy for them by accepting and interacting with their content as it comes up.

We also advise you not to display a lot of information about you in your profile on the platform, you do not need to know your exact age or where you live for example, or the restaurants you frequent, or your favorite type of food, these are your things, why should you tell these algorithms all something about you?

Use the platforms without logging in as much as you can

This is another tip that depends on how the platform works, when possible, do not let the social network in question know that you are using its services, for example, you can watch all the videos you want on YouTube without being logged into the platform, and YouTube will not have a way to link your activity to this with your Google account.

The same thing applies to the Reddit platform almost, where you can browse this platform without having to log into your account, and the downsides here are that you lose your ability to comment and vote on posts, but if you know how to deal well with the default settings of the platform, The browsing after logging out will work fine.

But this does not apply to all social media platforms, for example, it is almost impossible to use Facebook and Twitter without logging into your account.

Use a fake account

Using a "dummy" account, without any of your real information, is a great way to reap the benefits of these platforms without having to worry about the parent companies building an accurate profile about you.

Sure, you know that these companies are still stalking everything you do on their platforms, but if you don't give them the most important information about you like your name, email, date of birth, etc., it will be hard for them to really know who you are, and you can enjoy their services Without paying the price of your life and privacy.