What can you do to keep learning in a world of algorithms?
I recently facilitated a workshop on healthy relationships. I know this workshop well, but I was delivering it in a new format. The challenge was to take a concept that originated as multiple days of content and turn it into a two-hour seminar.
To do that, I introduced the term agreeable to the audience. I said I would skim certain things because I am assuming you are agreeable to them. This meant I believed that things I would typically provide evidence and supporting points could be glossed over because of a mutually agreeable understanding.
I got decent feedback on the session, but the most common critique was related to wanting more depth. Despite the audience being agreeable, their learning process was hindered by the pace of the content and what was missing because of the agreeable expectation.
Why does the pace of the content matter?
Today, we experience this agreeable expectation (assumption) almost every time we consume content on the internet.
The agreeable assumption is the basis for the algorithms that create our echo chambers. The agreement assumption has these parameters. The content feed to you
Has a message you are agreeable to
Agreeable can now mean I agree to hate it. Which, by the way, is the most common form of agreeable content on some topics.
Pushes you towards the most extreme version of the agreeable thing possible.
Is the shortest form of the agreeable content.
It is presented to you in a variety of randomized agreeable topics.
Why does the algorithm send you agreeable content in this way?
Because it is best for the enterprises feeding the content to you, you spend more time exploring agreeable content when it is extreme, in short form, and delivered randomly. The more you consume, the more money they make. The goal is to keep you consuming.
Is the algorithm working?
The average person spends 3 hours a day on short-form video content per day. The average viral short-form video is 25-35 seconds long. So, on average, you consume 360 different pieces of agreeable content daily.
I would say that is a pretty successful approach.
Why does the way you consume content matter?
“The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot red and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” ”
The algorithm assumes you would never be agreeable to intentionally becoming a modern illiterate, but you are very agreeable to being distracted in an agreeable way.
Content presented in the modern social media algorithmic fashion isn’t making you more intelligent. It’s hindering your ability to learn, unlearn and relearn.
How does the algorithm interfere with learning?
Learning means taking in new stuff and pruning away old stuff that is no longer helpful or accurate. If all of the content you consume is force-fed to you by an algorithm based on your agreeableness, you aren’t engaging in learning; you are engaging in bias confirmation.
This is terrible because your bias isn’t automatically right and the more often you hear something the more likely you will begin to believe it to be true.
What is the alternative to the algorithm?
I want to encourage you to reengage in the art of active learning to avoid becoming illiterate. Here is how
Take breaks from consuming content. Your brain was designed for periods of silence and solitude to process the information it has consumed. Questions and new ideas come in the gaps between information consumption and action. Create space.
Consume content from all sides of an issue or idea. When consuming positively agreeable content, ask herself this question: what might I be biased towards automatically believing without adequate evidence? When consuming negatively agreeable things (agree to hate), ask yourself this question: what reasonable thing might I be biased towards automatically discounting?
Get in the habit of double-clicking. Stop assuming that because you read, hear, or see something, it is the truth. Take time to investigate and improve your definition of reality by going deeper than 35 seconds allows. And go deeper into multiple aspects of the topic.
Be clear about your intent when consuming content, and consider the content creator's intent. Entertainment is intended to be entertaining, while learning material is designed to be educational. Entertainment can open doors for learning, but it won’t ever be enough on its own. Seek out learning material on topics you find entertaining.
Go analogue. Have a conversation face-to-face with someone about the subject, experience the thing in real life, and hold a carefully curated paper-bound book in your hands. Real life brings a depth of experience, engaging all your senses that you can’t find in a digital world. It's time to get back to your analog roots.
Conclusion
You are consuming more information than ever before. Still, you are learning less than ever before because unless you intentionally make an effort, almost all the content is content you are already agreeable to.
Only consuming agreeable content, especially in short form, prevents you from learning.
To relearn the art of learning, you need to be intentional about applying the steps in this article.