It is a glorious day here in Mumbai. And let’s hope for the weather to be brilliant wherever you are. So, do one thing today. Spare some time, grab a coffee and open your X/ Facebook/ Instagram account.
You must be wondering- what is the fuss about? You have already scrolled the reels and feeds since morning. All trends have been checked and what you liked has been ‘liked’ and ‘bookmarked’. This is an everyday ritual now.
These social media platforms have been around for long enough now. What started as innocent ways of connecting with people you may know from your school/ college are now shaping public opinions, personal ideologies and influencing elections and politics.
But no sermon on this, promise. Take your attention to your account for a while. If you are the kind of person who was into liking/sharing/tagging friends on social media posts; this should interest you.
Few days back, I logged onto my X (formerly Twitter) account and opened my Likes section. There were around 300 of them; dating all the way back to 2013 when I joined Twitter. And I started reading them again- the things I liked. The tweets I have saved to be read later (the later never came, btw) were there waiting for me to come back.
And I realised that the tweets I saved/liked 10 years back and what I save/like now are way too different. I looked closely and it mirrored how I have seen life over the years. I gave a serious thought on those ‘likes’ a thought and the timeline coincided with my some of the events in my personal life. What thoughts and beliefs I have carried in my journey from a young banker to now a family man are all there.
It was my story, right there. I can read myself back better than what I could remember now. Whether that should excite me or make me feel sorry is a different matter. But my social media activity over last 11 years or so is tangible evidence of how I have changed as a person. I might tell myself that no, that was not me actually but the argument will lack conviction.
Having this evidence and reading myself was fascinating. There were many things to chuckle about and few that maybe I did not want a reminder of. Silently and peacefully, I re-read myself on Twitter. And then on Facebook and Instagram.
(It is scary to be honest. People around you, including you, do not know what were your thought process few years back. But this platform knows so much, holds so much power over me in terms of knowing me better than anyone else on this planet).
Initially, I was surprised. The pattern, if given to some serious psycho-analysis expert; can reveal everything about the user. And can be used to manipulate him/her in numerous unthinkable ways. But then, it occurred to me- why am I really surprised. This has now been happening for quite some time.
It is a loop we are in. We have been telling internet what we like and what we will prefer to see and it keeps feeding us the same thing. And if you don’t know- you really don’t need to push the ‘like’ button to tell them your interests.
Stay on a post longer than other posts and you will keep seeing the similar items in your feed. Talk to your wife about the next holiday destination and Instagram influencers will be all over in the reels telling the “hidden treasure” in the Konkan region which 100k people has liked.
It is a (sad) reality that you really can’t push AI and technology away from your life. One way to do is go total ‘old school’ but then, let’s not kid ourselves.
I have tried to become old school as much as I can. There are no social media apps on my phone. I prefer reading printed publications than PDFs. Holding a newspaper gives me really cool vibes as compared to the logging on to their website. I don’t use smartwatch and I don’t intend to use it. My search history option on Google and Youtube are off since very long. And in spite of all this, I still keep getting ‘curated’ results for my interests.
They want me to read what they are recommending because they believe they know me and their recommendations will help me. Google has covered the length and breadth to find me a blog post on “How to kick your job in 2025 and become an AI entrepreneur” because maybe I commented on a video on a similar topic.
Thanks, but no thanks, Internet. I can manage. Don’t get me wrong. I am not rigid and stubborn. But I believe my primal nature and instincts more than the World Wide Web.
And it still a weekend. Go and check your social media accounts and see if you can find something interesting there. And if you do which brings back some memory, do share this blog with everyone. 😊
Tushar's Blog 