Is your SM so full of algorithm content, you don't bother?

[Fordian]

I'm really old- 🤭 but I'm finding I bother less and less with my SM engagement because it is overwhelmed with algorithm generated nonsense? Much of it, could I say, click-baity hatey stuff?

Might this backfire on these platforms? I'm aware 'middle aged woman' is not their core, but do they really not care about our traffic?

Yes, I agree. Back in the day, I used to spend a good hour reading my whole facebook feed until I came to the post I had read on my previous visit. Now, I read a couple of posts, get bored of the adverts, threads etc and leave. I want to know what my friends are up to, not random people.

Facebook absolutely.
My feed is full of random shit that is of no interest to me, that I haven’t followed or liked. So the algorithms are shite too.
It’s inane crap. As @thingsineverthoughtidsay said, I want to see my friends’ posts. Not random rubbish, or even worse, ads.

Yes. Twitter in particular has become unusable. So much randomness and none of it interesting. Feels like only the bots use sm now. MN feels like it’s going that way too sometimes.

Yes. FB is full of ads,some random shit and armchair psychologists. I no longer see the groups I’m a member of or my friends updates.
Don’t even get me started on comments.

Considering what You Tube’s reputation is for not allowing certain words and topics, I’ve been really pissed off that its algorithm works to direct me toward some really foul videos I wouldn’t want to see in a million years, linked only incredibly tenuously to something that I have been watching on an academic channel.

Facebook is crap now. All I get is adverts for whatever I've Google searched. So at the moment I'm looking to buy some new furniture so every other post is an advert is for furniture shops.
Yet it won't bother to show me content from my actual friends or groups I'm interested in. I have to search for them manually.

Facebook used to be full of posts from my friends and other authors. Now I get two, maybe three posts and then everything else is posts from groups, clubs and places I have never even clicked on, let alone have any association with. X keeps bombarding me with posts saying things like 'sorry to say that today Jake died' and I think oh no! And then realise that I don't know anyone called Jake and it's a post from someone I've never heard of, let alone follow.

I have to keep both these things going as they are a major way of connecting with readership but I wish I could just wipe them all. They don't seem to want to show me anything from anyone I know!

Yes and even the groups you are interested in are so overrun with adverts that they're unusable - local news sites, the Poke etc

Yes and I think it's a shame as I used to really enjoy SM as a way of keeping up with friends and family. Now I can't be bothered to check it often. I also hardly post any more so I'm part of the problem but there doesn't seem any point as no one will see it anyway.

Yes, FB in particular I only have my old school friends on there really but I used to enjoy seeing what everyone was doing. Now, there are so many irrelevant adverts,Suggestions of groups to follow that i give up before I've actually seen any of my friends posts

Plenty of FB use going on in my circles, it is just that almost all activity is taking place via private groups and messaging. Not as much posting on feeds any more.

Twitter users- I don't see any of this but I hear a lot about it. Is it the app? I only look at "following" and go via the browser

I get a few ads but that's it. I know it force resets to "for you" sometimes but that's only happened to me about 3 times.

Even Google! If you're shopping for say a black dress all you get is the same black dresses from the last place you shopped!

I don't want that! I want to see all the different black dresses - drives me nuts!

Yep. I'm only on Mumsnet.

Yes -- it's good! I'd like to get off all SM platforms. I managed to stop a few. I had an issue with scrolling on FB and I'm starting to stop because it's so full of ads.

Yes, it's a shame. Facebook particularly - why is their algorithm so shit? Why does it think I'm interested in very obviously AI videos of post-war Britain? And also bridges in northern England? It's so far off the mark I rarely bother to open it now.

Twitter is becoming unusable because the blue tick bots are pushed to the top of posts, so you no longer get a sense of public opinion on a large scale. It's just Farage fanboys and bots with lions in their profile.

I still like Instagram, but I switch off suggested posts every 30 days and only really use it for my hobby.

I can't bear it. I have a fair few friends on Facebook but only ever see posts from half a dozen - half of which are the people I interact with least.

And the bloody app keeps putting on the pings and bongs, I keep turning them off and they keep appearing. I hate it. I'm in the brink of deleting my account but it's the only way I can keep in touch with some people.

And this chuffing spell check/predictive text thing - half the time it's decided what it wants me to say, not what I've effing well typed 🤬

I'm glad that this doesn't just seem to be 'grumpy old woman'ing'.

It's boring. I got thrown off X for no humanly explicable reason! But- I don't care. It was full of hate-bait. I have no idea why. I'm not a hatey person, but the algorithm decided I was, apparently. Fed me endless shite I had no interest in, then, random, banned me.

It's so disappointing that stuff like FB could have so kept links with our old friends, but is now full of the last item we looked up on Amazon.

I'm sick of patronising reels about how hard being a mum is and a video of some woman j have never met sat in her car having a coffee with some cheesy quote at the top.

I am 55. Was very politically engaged on Twitter for years, now it is a far-right cesspit. Didn't get the hang of Threads or Bluesky, yet, tbh can't be bothered to build up my following all over again to over 5K. Used to post a lot of photos on Insta about our pets, kids and nature photos, and on FB, latter mainly for family who live 3,000 miles away. Now you get your posts randomly removed by FB for no good reason. Used to watch a lot of animal, history etc videos as well on FB. Then this year lost interest completely.

I don't know, isn't it possible to just use/enjoy social media without worrying about "building up" followers or whatever? Bluesky is quite good now; a lot of the saner Twitter people I follow are gradually migrating over there.

Oh God, yes. I don't look at Facebook feeds anymore and mostly stick to my groups, but even there you will always get some irritating try-hard member who keeps posting this kind of gushy crap in the group. "Don't worry, as a mum YOU ARE THE BEST. YOU ARE DOING A GREAT JOB. YOU ARE ALL YOUR KID NEEDS." Yeah, whatever. Fuck off. And some mums are not the best and do a shit job, actually.

My FB algorithm doesn’t show me stuff that I like any more so I check specific groups then leave.

Instagram and TikTok algorithms show me more of what I’m interested in so I spend more time on there these days.

I might give Bluesky another go @GreenTeaLikesMe thanks. I know a lot of people I follow migrated over. Should be able to enjoy it before Musk buys it. 😂

I might give BlueSky a go too then - does it have trending like Twitter though? My favourite thing about Twitter is when something interesting is happening (particularly in politics) and you get up to the minute information and comment.

Though I'm just not sure I can be bothered to learn another platform... that definitely is a grumpy old woman thing 😂