Today in my Instagram feed was a random reel of a sixth-grade teacher I do not know telling a story about a new student. Whenever the student would speak in class, he would grasp a square, dark green locket that was attached to a necklace. The teacher noticed that the dark green locket looked worn from rubbing, and so he decided to ask the student about it. The boy told him that the locket contained the prayers and well wishes from his family, and he touched it whenever he spoke because he was sharing those prayers and wishes with everyone who heard him. He said not everybody had family or people who supported them like he did.

I often have inspirational posts and reels in my Instagram feed from people I am not following and do not know. I also see a fair number of cute puppy or dog posts. It’s the algorithm at work: those people I do follow, combined with the type of Google searches I regularly make, dictate the posts and reels that make it into my feed. By the posts and reels I view plus those I search for, I am attracting more of the same into my Instagram or Facebook feeds.

When it comes to the media or social media content we consume, the algorithm takes whatever we’re into and gives us more of it. While that can save us time, it also narrows our scope of information, for better or worse. The information feeds our worldview and our built-in biases – the biases we don’t realize we have. Take a look at your Facebook and Instagram feeds, notice recurring content, and pay attention to the way it makes you feel about the world. I’ve not met anyone who said they felt more peace and joy after reading conspiracy theories, so I’ll take the inspirational teacher stories or puppy videos any day of the week. Peace and joy are my goals, and they’re only possible if I attract information that supports their growth.

Photo courtesy of Kuhlens Photography