Culture Beyond Algorithms

I have always been selective about what I engage with. Not to be different for its own sake, but because what was offered en masse rarely held my attention. Music, films, books, shows, each selected with care.

I never listened to mainstream music on the radio. That does not make me special. It simply means I was searching elsewhere. Not out of resistance to influence, but because passive consumption never led to anything memorable.

Today, I do not listen to Spotify recommendations. Not because the technology is flawed, but because the result is different. I choose albums and artists deliberately and build my own playlists. It is the difference between a family recipe and a supermarket version. The ingredients may overlap, but the outcome does not. One carries discovery and intent. The other is designed for mass consumption.

Mass culture has always existed, and so have people searching for something more precise. The records, films, or meals that stay with you rarely appear by chance. You find them because you look for them, or because someone with taste puts you onto them.

If you are serious about culture, you do not rely on randomness produced by large systems. You ask friends whose judgment you trust. You listen to the albums, watch the films, read the books, try the food they recommend. You give it time. You sit with it. And when it resonates, you pass it on. You do not press shuffle and hope something meaningful emerges. Paying attention is what makes things matter.

Forced feeding is not new. Radio and television have long decided what most people hear or see, long before platforms existed. What has changed is efficiency. Algorithms now perform the same function, but with far greater precision and sleek interfaces. The promise is personalization. The reality is behavioral steering.

A “for you” feed can be scrolled endlessly on social platforms. Or you can follow people whose judgment and values you respect, even if that path is less encouraged. Convenience is always offered first. Effort is quietly discouraged.

You can consume what large companies provide. Or you can dig deeper. You can look for what genuinely interests you and spend time developing preferences instead of accepting suggestions. The choice still exists.

Curation is not about rejecting mass culture. It is about deciding how much space it gets in your life. Algorithms offer ease. Taste requires effort. One fills time. The other shapes your identity. In the end, the choice remains simple. You can let systems decide for you, or you can decide for yourself. By choosing… On your own terms!