Suggested content is taking over social media timelines

Analysis

Suggested content has ruined the timeline. My feeds on various social media apps previously showed me content I wanted to see (like posts from people I follow), but now multiple companies are essentially copying TikTok’s For You Page (FYP)—which shows you videos based on what other videos you engaged with or watched—with mixed success. On TikTok, that means if you watch a couple of videos from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, you’ll likely be served dozens of videos about Taylor Swift on your FYP. (And, yes, I’m basing that on personal experience.)

Twitter’s “For you” timeline is attempting to follow a similar strategy. According to Twitter, “when we identify a Tweet, an account to follow, or other content that's popular or relevant, we may add it to your timeline.” The company also claims that it doesn’t “recommend content that might be abusive or spammy.” But users don’t seem to like or agree with the algorithm’s choices.

“Is anybody else's For You feed on Twitter just violence and boobs,” creator @Valkyrae asked. 

“It’s nothing but endless MAGA pundits and lawmakers. I don’t know what algorithm you have Twitter using but it’s laced with garbage,” Bradley P. Moss wrote in a tweet that tagged Elon Musk. 

Twitter users can toggle between the “For you” and “Following” feeds, but users have complained that the app defaults to the For you timeline. The problem with the new Twitter timeline also gets at a bigger problem with social media now: You can pick between people you follow or suggested content—but if the suggested content is bad, people will switch to using lists, or not even looking at feeds. 

Why it matters

Places like Twitter previously allowed people to connect with strangers from all over the world and find people with similar interests. But now, with the timeline harder to navigate, it seems that users are opting to see posts only from people they follow. That’s a shame because Twitter was once a place to find weird and funny posts from new people. And the change is not just happening on Twitter. 

Last year, Kylie Jenner asked Instagram to “Stop trying to be TikTok” after it began to push more Reels into users’ feeds. 

It shouldn’t be difficult to find the kind of posts you want to see on a social media app. 

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