—and it is quietly stressing us out. Part 3: The Algorithm as a Babysitter (And a Jailer) How do we survive the firehose? We outsource the decision to the algorithm.
Spotify’s "Discover Weekly," Netflix’s "Top 10," and TikTok’s "For You Page" exist to solve the paradox of choice. They curate the chaos. Xxxpawn Now That--39-s Whole Lotta Butt
This leads to a phenomenon known as —spending 45 minutes looking for something to watch, only to give up and re-watch The Office for the tenth time. The Anxiety of the Backlog "I have a queue of 300 movies on my watchlist." "I have 57 unplayed games on Steam." "I have 20 podcasts with a red 'unplayed' dot." —and it is quietly stressing us out
This isn't leisure. This is a second job. The sheer volume of popular media has turned FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) into a clinical condition. We are afraid to commit to a 10-hour show because what if a better 10-hour show drops next week? The Anxiety of the Backlog "I have a