Spoiler: it’s more. Algorithms don’t think like us. Their goal is not to show you what you want to see; it’s to keep you on the platform. When you post “stop showing me sabrina carpenter think pieces,” it reads as: “Ah, Sabrina Carpenter keeps you here. Gotcha.”

You can’t call it the “online world” if you never leave your feed. If your entire internet life happens inside TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, or Twitter, you’re simply mall-walking, and malls are fine: predictable, climate-controlled, food courts and chain stores on every corner, but don’t mistake the mall for the city. The city is bigger,... See more