Your Wokeness Isn’t Wanted

every day it feels like someone is getting canceled. An influencer puts a fish in the wrong-size aquarium. Suddenly, everyone in the comment section is a vet, and now that user is “canceled.” Oh, and that other TikToker? The one that only makes videos about their hot takes on music? Yeah, they got banned for saying Tyler the Creator is overrated. So many nonsensical things get enough people riled up to get people entirely removed from a social media platform—instead of hitting the block button. The internet has socialized so many people to be hyper-aware of numerous social, political, and cultural issues. It’s to the extent that people feel the need to police one another—especially if their views don’t align.

Social media is already programmed to be tailored to your liking. All the content you consume lets these platforms know what videos to keep sending your way. By guessing and getting it right each time you hit the like button on a video, you’re telling these platforms to keep it coming and not change what you watch. The algorithm knows what you like and what to send your way. This is done to keep you on the app as long as possible. Talking about this at a glance doesn’t seem like a problem to most people. Who wouldn’t want to see content on their page that reaffirms what they believe in? Your algorithm knows exactly what you enjoy. Who are you to hit block or “not interested” on an influencer or content creator you genuinely enjoy? You’ve finally curated the perfect feed for yourself, the ultimate social media dream. And it isn’t a bad thing. As mentioned, this is what anyone would want and is the end goal for these social media platforms. Your little piece of the internet becomes an escape from reality and the business of your life.

But one day, you come across a video you normally wouldn’t watch. It feels out of place for something like this to pop up on your feed. You go to the comments searching for people to agree on how absurd the video is, but instead, everyone is agreeing. This disruption in your feed might make you uncomfortable, making you inclined to hit that “not interested” button. Another reaction to this might be to play hero and fight people in the comments when all you had to do was read and scroll. It’s in this kind of situation that algorithms being so customized to your liking becomes a problem. Instead of being open to what others might have to say, there’s a want to either double down on your opinions and beliefs or ignore them entirely.

Now it isn’t a bad thing to disagree with others on issues. After all, that’s the art of debate. It allows people to broaden their perspectives on certain matters and think about them in ways they had not thought about before. It’s when people start attacking one another instead of understanding that this becomes a problem. Coming for other people online for their beliefs, morals, or opinions on the basis that you disagree with them only polarizes and reaffirms their already present bias. All it takes is a simple block to have you stop showing up on their feed. Some people will even take it a step further and report your account—which can have you suspended or possibly banned from the platform.

This hyper-policing of others on the internet is doing more harm than good. Today, people can’t simply talk to one another because they decided that not making dogs go vegan is the worst thing ever or putting milk before cereal is wrong—here lies the problem. The internet is a space that’s meant to spread knowledge and ideas. If its basic function can’t be fulfilled without everyone coming at one another for thinking differently, then we’ll have abandoned social media accounts of people that thought differently. This socialization isn’t good for anyone and can harm so many people. If everyone is hyper-aware of how they are online, so much so that everyone acts the same, then how helpful is it, to begin with?