Have you ever opened TikTok for ‘five minutes’ and suddenly realised an hour has passed? Maybe you watched one video about a relationship, fitness, skincare or politics, and before long your entire feed seemed to be filled with similar content. It can feel like your phone somehow knows exactly what you want to see. That isn’t a coincidence.
Social media platforms use algorithms to decide which content they think you are most likely to engage with. They learn from things such as what you watch, like share, search for and scroll past. This can make social media entertaining and personalised, but it also raises an important question: if algorithms are constantly deciding what we see, could they eventually influence who we become?
1. Your Feed Isn’t the Same as Everyone Else’s
It is easy to forget that the version of social media you see is unique to you. Two people can open the same app and be presented with completely different worlds. One person might see study tips, funny videos and football, while another sees weight-loss content, relationship advice and videos about how they should look.
Ofcom (2024) found that social media and video-sharing platforms are a major part of young people’s online lives. The more time we spend in personalised online spaces, the more important it becomes to understand why certain content is being shown to us. Your ‘For You’ page might feel like a reflection of who you are, but it is also being actively constructed around what keeps your attention.
2. Seeing Something Repeatedly Can Make It Feel Normal
Algorithms do not necessarily understand whether a message is healthy, realistic or helpful. They are largely designed to predict what will keep us interested. This becomes important when certain ideas appear repeatedly.
Research into social learning has long suggested that people can learn attitudes and behaviours through observing others (Bandura, 1977). Social media gives us an enormous number of people to observe every day.
If your feed repeatedly tells you that you need a certain body type to be attractive, that jealousy is normal in relationships, or that men and women should behave in particular ways, those messages can begin to feel more normal simply because you encounter them so often. That does not mean watching one TikTok will completely change your beliefs. The concern is more about repeated exposure over time.
3. Algorithms Can Affect How We See Ourselves
Sometimes the person algorithms influence most is not how we see other people, but how we see ourselves. Social media is full of edited photographs, filters, carefully selected moments and people presenting idealised versions of their lives. When an algorithm notices that you engage with this content, it can potentially show you even more of it.
Research commissioned by the UK Parliament has highlighted concerns about the relationship between social media, body image and young people’s wellbeing (House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee, 2022).
Suddenly, things you had never worried about can feel like problems that need fixing.
Your skin isn’t clear enough.
Your body isn’t the right shape.
Your relationship isn’t exciting enough.
Everyone else seems more successful than you.
But algorithms are not showing you an objective picture of reality. They are showing you a personalised selection of content designed to hold your attention.
4. It Can Create an Echo Chamber
One of the biggest problems with personalised feeds is that they can keep reinforcing ideas you already engage with. If you watch several videos expressing a particular opinion, the platform may recommend similar content. Eventually, you can end up seeing the same viewpoint repeatedly while rarely encountering alternatives. This is sometime described as a filter bubble or echo chamber.
For teenagers who are still developing their identities and views of the world, this matters. Adolescence is already a period where belonging, identity and other people’s opinions can feel particularly important. An algorithm cannot tell you what your values should be. But it can influence which voices you hear most often while you are figuring them out.
5. Does That Mean Algorithms Control Us?
No- and that distinction is important. We are not powerless, and algorithms cannot simply programme someone into becoming a certain person. Our personalities and beliefs are influenced by countless things: our families, friendships, experiences, cultures, communities, education and our own choices. Algorithms are another influence within that bigger picture.
However, unlike many influences in our lives, algorithms can operate almost invisibly. Most of us do not stop after every video and ask, ‘Why was I shown this?’ That is why understanding how they work can be so powerful.
Taking Back Control of Your Feed
You do not necessarily need to delete social media to have a healthier relationship with it. Instead, start becoming more conscious of what you are consuming.
Ask yourself:
- Why am I being shown this?
- How does this content make me feel?
- Am I seeing different perspectives, or the same message repeatedly?
- Would I believe this if I hadn’t seen it online so many times?
- Is this something I genuinely believe, or something I’ve slowly been encouraged to believe?
You can also actively shape your feed by unfollowing accounts that consistently make you feel worse about yourself, selecting “not interested” on content you don’t want to see, following people with different perspectives and deliberately taking breaks from endless scrolling.
Final Thoughts
Algorithms might not decide who we become, but they can influence the information, lifestyles, opinions and expectations we are exposed to while we are becoming ourselves. That is why digital awareness is about more than knowing how to stay safe online. It is also about recognising when technology may be influencing the way we think.
Your For You page knows what keeps you watching. But it doesn’t know who you want to become. And that decision should still belong to you.
References
Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee. (2022). The impact of body image on mental and physical health. Second Report of Session 2022–23. London: House of Commons.
Ofcom. (2024). Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report 2024. London: Ofcom.
UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS). (2020). Education for a Connected World: 2020 Edition. London: UK Council for Internet Safety.
