Why a feed shows certain things — Media, 7–10 years
Online feeds use signals such as clicks, follows and time spent to choose what appears next. The result is useful, but it is not the whole world.
A feed is a selection
A feed is not a window showing everything that exists online. A computer system selects some posts, videos or stories using signals about what people have clicked, watched or followed. Different people can therefore see different selections.
Why feeds choose
There are far too many posts for a person to see them all. Selection helps a service put likely useful or interesting items near the top. The problem is that what keeps our attention is not always what is most important, accurate or varied.
How a feed can change
On Monday, Ana watches three videos about drawing and follows two artists. On Tuesday, her feed shows more drawing videos near the top. If she then searches for space and follows a science page, new science posts may appear too. The feed changed because its signals changed.
The feed is not the whole world
When similar posts keep appearing, it is reasonable to think that everyone is seeing them or that they must be the most important. This is a selection effect. Other views may exist outside the feed, even when they are not being placed in front of us.
Making a feed wider
If you want a wider view, follow more than one reliable source and search for subjects instead of only waiting for recommendations. You can also use controls such as not interested or unfollow. These choices do not show everything, but they can make the selection less narrow.
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