How to Hack Your Algorithm and Enjoy Social Media Again

I have a confession: sometimes I hate social media. It can be depressing, hateful, rude. Downright toxic. For a long time, it was one of the things I dreaded having to do every day - but I wanted to grow as a writer (and keep up with the rest of the world), and I have friends with small business so I wanted to be able to support them. In a lot of ways, I felt like I didn't have a choice; I needed to learn to make social media work for me, to seek things I wanted and get rid of the rest. To find the joy in it. To make it great again - at least in my little corner of the world.

If you're in the same boat due to toxic politics, judgmental comments, and purposely rude or ignorant posts - but you still want to be present online - let me show you five of my favorite hacks to spark new social media enjoyment.

1: CHOOSE YOUR PLATFORM WITH PURPOSE

Social media is a valuable way to stay connected to family, friends, and the rest of the world, but many people don't like social media because it can be overwhelming. With so many platforms to choose from and so many people constantly moving from one to another, this overwhelm is totally normal; no one can be everywhere at once. One way I learned to love social media again was to choose the platforms I wanted to be on, commit to learning how each one worked, prioritize where I wanted to be - and then take the time to get used to them one by one.

You don't have to use them all - but if you're going to be on social media in any capacity, choosing a platform gets easier if you think about why you want to be there, what you want to achieve with your online presence, and where the majority of your people are hanging out.

2: INTERACT INTENTIONALLY

Many people who leave social media do it because they don't understand the predictive algorithms social platforms use in an effort to keep people engaged. 

• "Why does it show me so many things I hate seeing?"
• "Where is the content I actually came here for?"
• "I don't understand why I follow certain pages, see them for a while, and then they disappear from my feeds."

Predictive algorithms don't read all the content, and they don't read all the comments. What they read most is the general subject of the content posted and the general amount of interaction from people who see it. These numbers are used to predict what you like to see, based on what you engage with. So if you see something you can't stand (opposing politics, religious debates, that girl you hated in middle school, etc.) and you leave a comment or reply, predictive AI only sees you reacting, which is why you'll suddenly see your feed flooded with those things. Even online, you tend to see the most of what you're looking for - and that can be good or bad, so be intentional. The best practice for this goes back to the age-old wisdom most of us have heard a thousand times: if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Be intentional with your interactions.

Which leads me to why you aren't seeing the things you do like. Are you leaving a comment or reply? Do you click the like button? Do you share posts you enjoy? If not, that's why the content you want to see isn't on your feed anymore. If you do comment, reply, or like things, are you doing it randomly just because you saw something, or intentionally because you want to see more of it? Again, be intentional with your interactions.

This isn't an immediate fix, but it does make a difference - or at least, it did for me.

3: FIND THE APPROPRIATE FEED TO CONTROL WHAT YOU SEE

Sometimes we don't see the people or pages we follow on our "for you" feed because we've gone a while without taking the time to engage with those people or pages. They drop off the "for you" feed because without your engagement, your social platform's predictive algorithm will think you don't want to see that anymore - not because it's malicious or controlling, but because it's trying to give you what it thinks you want, based on your own engagement behaviors. But there is a trick (on most social platforms) that can help you get around this while you work to be more intentional. Here's how I find my friends and followed pages on the platforms I use most often:

• On Facebook (using the Android app): Open the app, then tap your profile picture in the top right corner. Right below your shortcuts, you'll see a bunch of buttons - look for the one labeled "feeds." If you don't see it, tap the "more" button, and it'll be in there somewhere. Once you find it, you'll see options at the top of your screen: "favorites" is the people and pages you've actually selected and/or starred as favorites, and then "friends," "groups," and "pages" should be self-explanatory.
• On Twitter/X (again using the Android app): This one's a little easier to find. Just open the app and look at the top of your feed. It'll open automatically to the "for you" page, but you can tap "following" to see posts specifically from the people you wanted to see.
• On Instagram (still with the Android app): Open the app, tap "Instagram" in the top left corner, and from there, it's easy to toggle back and forth between feeds. For example, tap "Instagram," and then "following," use the back button on the top left of your screen to return to your home page, tap "Instagram" again, and then "favorites."
• On TikTok (Android app again because I'm nothing if not loyal): This one's pretty simple too. Turn your volume down first because otherwise the auto-play can be jarring, and then when you open the app, look at the top of your screen. The app opens automatically to the "for you" feed, but you can also tap "friends" or "following" to switch back and forth between feeds.

Remember that for beginner (or newly-returning) users, the "for you" feed can be a great way to find new people and pages to connect with - just make sure you engage actively and intentionally. Make the algorithm work for you by giving it plenty to work with. It's social media. Be social!

4: USE BLOCKS (AND MUTES) TO CONTROL WHAT YOU DON'T SEE

Blocks are a great way to make sure you never see or interact with pages or people you don't like, but it can also be an ego boost for people who get their jollies on purposely upsetting others. I don't know about all social platforms, but on Twitter/X specifically, if you've blocked someone and they search for you, they'll know you blocked them. Then they'll either have hurt feelings because they're the kind of person who would want to clear the air, or they'll get a little dopamine hit from knowing they've forced a reaction out of you.

Which is why the mute feature is one of my favorite ways to control my experience on social media.

• On Facebook: Okay, you're scrolling along, and you see yet another stupid post from that annoying friend, coworker, or family member you're sick of seeing but not quite ready to unfriend or block. You don't want to see them (at least for a while) but for whatever reason you don't want to cut ties either, so what do you do? Right at the top right corner of that post you're rolling your eyes at, you'll see a set of three dots. Tap them. Toward the bottom of the pop-up screen, you'll see options to "snooze" that person or page for 30 days, temporarily removing them from your feeds. Or you can unfollow them, which will remove them from your feeds until they're over whatever it is that makes them annoying and you find them more enjoyable again. If you're really really sick of them though, there's a block option in that pop-up too. You can also block specific words and phrases from showing up on your feeds - but be aware that this may unintentionally prevent you from seeing posts you might otherwise have wanted to see. For example, if you hate pizza so you block the word "pizza" from your feeds, you won't see other like-minded pizza-hating posts.
• On Twitter/X: This works in much the same way - if you're sick of seeing a particular person or page popping up on your feeds, you can tap the little dots at the top right corner of the post you don't want to see, and from there you can mute or block that person or page. I personally recommend the mute over the block especially on this one, in order to prevent accidentally ego-stroking the kinds of obnoxious people who get off on that sort of thing. Twitter/X also has options for blocking words and phrases, but the same warning given above counts here too.
• On Instagram: Instagram differs slightly here; in order to get rid of content you no longer want to see, you'll tap those same three right-top-corner dots, and then if you're following that person, you'll see "hide" in the pop-up menu. If you tap that, you'll be asked if you want to mute or unfollow that person. If you already weren't following them, then when you tap those dots you'll look for "not interested," and from there you'll also have the option to report the post if you think you really need to go that far. You can block certain words and phrases on Instagram, too.
• On TikTok: This is another one where controlling your feed looks a little different, mostly because TikTok is focused on video media and has an incredibly diverse population and library of content. But if there's something you want to see less of in your feeds, long-press the video you don't like and you'll trigger a pop-up menu. From there you can tap "not interested," or if it's a post from someone you follow but no longer want in your feed, that same long-press triggered menu will include an option to mute that person or page. Alternatively, you can block them entirely, but the process is a little counter-intuitive: tap their profile photo (it'll be the top icon in the list on the lower-left corner), tap the little "share" arrow in the top right corner of their profile page, and then look for "block" near the bottom left corner of your screen. To block certain words or phrases on TikTok, tap the profile icon at the bottom right of your screen, then the three-line menu icon at the top right. From there, tap "settings and privacy," "content preferences," and then "filter video keywords."

5: BE THE CHANGE

This last hack is the easiest one to implement. Just be the change you want to see. If you aren't seeing your kind of people, your kind of content, and your kind of posts on social media, maybe it's because social media needs you to post it. Share the things you want to see, the things you find interesting or educational, or thought-provoking. Talk about your hobbies. Just take a deep breath, get out there, and be you. (Also, if you're a platform or page-builder like me, don't get caught up in the numbers. Jesus only had twelve followers, he got trolled everywhere he went, and he still changed the world. It's not just about the numbers - which is why I think gratuitous followbacks are an absolute waste.)

This week had more than its fair share of distractions and derailments, so writing didn't go quite as far as I had hoped. I'm thankful my younger daughter is back to school because it opens some space for uninterrupted writing - but that only works well when the week isn't full of doctor's appointments. All in all it was still a great week, and I love that Naomi is sharing more of her story too! She's Christine's best friend in the Freedom Series, and one of my absolute favorite supporting characters from all of my books. It's hard to believe STILL FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM only has eight chapters left before the end!

Want more updates on my writing? You can always check the sidebar here for progress graphics, or you could follow me on Facebook or Instagram for writing updates in my stories. But if I'm gonna keep those updates coming, I'd better get back to it. Until next week...