Let me ask you something – If I were to lock you in a room and only allow you to see certain types of books, hear certain kinds of music, and interact with certain kinds of people for several years, would that change who you are?
Of course it would, right?
Your tastes would change, your worldview would shift, and your sense of what’s normal would be completely different.
This is precisely what’s happening to billions of people right now.
We are living through the greatest psychological experiment in human history, and we are all test subjects.
Every platform you use and even the ads that follow you around the internet is running algorithms designed to predict and modify your behavior.
But here’s what most people don’t understand
these algorithms don’t just predict what you’ll click on next. They actively shape who you become.
You might not want to hear this, but… the person you believe yourself to be right now is not actually you.
It’s a curated version of you, carefully crafted by algorithms that know you better than you know yourself.
And the scariest part? You’ve been collaborating without even realizing it.
Today, we’re going to examine how recommendation algorithms don’t just show us content – they actively reshape our identity by amplifying certain traits and suppressing others, until we lose touch with who we really are.
You open your go to app. You like one post about something – fitness, cooking, politics, whatever. The platform shows you more of that content. You engage with that post too, because why not?
But algorithms don’t just give you more of the same – they give you more extreme versions because extreme content gets bigger reactions.
So you go from casual interest to total obsession. Without choosing it, this random thing you liked once becomes part of who you think you are. The algorithm shaped your identity.
But here’s the important question. Was this actually part of who you really are, or did you just accidentally click on something that sent you down a rabbit hole?
I don’t have a problem with some traits that these algorithms amplify.
The problem is that for every trait the algorithm decides to amplify in you, there are countless others it decides to suppress.
So let’s say you had a brief moment of curiosity about philosophy, but you didn’t engage with it on social media as strongly as you did with other posts.
The algorithm notes this too and decides you’re NOT interested in philosophy. So it stops showing you philosophical content entirely.
Years later, you might think you’re just not into philosophy, never knowing the algorithm made that decision for you.
This is not the real you. This is what I call the algorithmic you.
“Algorithmic you” is a version of you that has been amplified in certain directions and diminished in others, not based on your authentic nature or conscious choices, but based on what keeps you engaged with a screen.
And now, you’ve been optimized NOT for your own growth but for corporate profit.
Let me explain how this process works so you have a better chance of getting out of it.
The algorithm operates on what psychologists call intermittent reinforcement. It’s the same principle that makes gambling addictive.
Sometimes you get rewarded with content that genuinely interests you, and, sometimes you don’t. This unpredictability keeps you coming back, constantly seeking that next hit of satisfaction.
But this is not how humans are supposed to learn about themselves.
Throughout history, humans learned who to be by observing and imitating the people around them. But now, instead of learning from your immediate community, people who knew you, cared about you, and had a vested interest in your genuine development, you’re learning from an algorithmic feed designed by strangers whose only interest is keeping you engaged.
And they’ve figured out exactly how to do it.
Social media has discovered something that meditation teachers and philosophers have known for centuries.
Attention is the most valuable resource you possess.
Your attention literally creates your reality.
Where you place your attention determines what you think about, and what you think about determines how you feel, and how you feel determines what you do, and what you do determines who you become.
By controlling your attention, these algorithms are controlling who you become.
So what does this actually look like in your life?
That feeling you have of knowing yourself, your interests, your values, your personality, is largely an illusion created by consistent algorithmic reinforcement.
You don’t actually know who you are underneath all that digital conditioning. I mean, how could you anyway? It’s been years since you’ve had a real, unfiltered conversation with your own mind.
Now, you might be thinking, but I choose what to engage with. I’m in control of my social media consumption.
This is what psychologists call the illusion of choice.
Yes, you’re technically making choices, but you’re making choices from a menu that has been carefully curated to lead you in specific directions.
Think about it
you don’t choose what the next reel or shorts is going to be. You don’t choose what the top 10 movies or shows will be. You’re just choosing from their menu.
So how do we break free from this?
1st: Diversify your inputs.
Break out of these online filter bubbles. Read books written before social media existed. Spend time with people who don’t live online. Engage with ideas that challenge you.
2nd: Practice digital fasting.
Regular breaks from social media feeds. Let your mind reset and discover what you actually like, when algorithms are not telling you what you like.
3rd: Build your attention span.
Read or listen to long-form content. Meditate. Do things that require patience.
Learn to tell the difference between real curiosity and algorithmic suggestions.
4th: Curate your own experience.
Stop letting algorithms choose for you. Actively decide what you consume based on who you want to become.
The companies behind these platforms employ some of the smartest psychologists, neuroscientists, and behavioral economists in the world.
Their entire business model depends on understanding your psychology better than you understand it yourself.
This engineered version of yourself created by algorithms is optimized for engagement and predictability, not for your growth, not for fulfillment, and not for authentic self-expression.
This engineered version of yourself created by the algorithms is a customer.
The algorithmic you is not the real you. It’s a fake version created by systems designed to profit from your attention.
But the real you, the person you would be if you were making conscious, deliberate choices about your own development, that person is still there, waiting to be rediscovered.
The question is, are you willing to do the work to find them?
Because the truth is
You are far more interesting, complex, and capable than any algorithm could ever predict.
But you’ll never discover that as long as you keep outsourcing your self-knowledge to machines that profit from your predictability.
