I used to be able to keyword-search my way to some very particular results. Sometimes I searched for things with varying levels of complexity, like using multiple specific keywords to pull two bits of information from the summary of one result.
Now, I get this feeling of being defeated before I even type anything in to the search box.
I’ve found myself primarily using Telegram for certain compiled news and social commentary for two main reasons. First is that I can be sure that I’m making the fully informed choice to click on to those channels, rather than being served up some kind of algorithmic distraction from what I want to see. The mix of sources, groups, personalities and so on, tends to be more varied than most search engines seem to be able to offer.
This also makes me concerned that the internet will eventually devolve into a series of apps, rather than many individual websites that are indexed and searchable.
Second, it’s near-impossible these days to find raw footage on certain news stories on sites like Youtube. Instead, I get spammed with results from their “trusted” or “authoritative sources” or whatever it is, like CNN, MSNBC, The BBC, etc. If they ever show raw footage, it’s most often chopped up and spoken over, usually with some deliberate political spin.
Aside from that, there are communities I frequently check in on to see how certain information or news stories are being presented and handled. A few of these communities, I am in outright disagreement with on many subjects and for many reasons, yet I seek and value their input, if only to get my counter-points in order.
In the interest of freedom, and also developing the most informed, detailed perspectives that are as close to the truth as is personally possible for me to get, I don’t want algorithms interfering in where I go for information. Sometimes, I’m not only looking for the truth; I’m also looking for insight into what people are doing with that truth, how it might be being twisted and spun, whether they’re using it to empower or disarm, whether it’s being used to sow division or to foster unity, etc.
Other times, I am deliberately searching for the lies and otherwise false information that people are dealing in. Sometimes it’s fun, and I’m not keen on these algorithms deciding that I can’t see certain things for my own safety.
I’m an adult, and I don’t need some bot acting as the gatekeeper and arbiter of truth, or some digital parent that I never asked for.
