John Green seeks freedom from the algorithm in new video

If you're on the internet (and I'm assuming you are if you are reading this now), you are at the very least casually familiar with "the algorithm." This is the very thing John Green seeks to escape from in his latest video.

On social media, "the algorithm" is the machine that pretty much decides what we see on our respective feeds. It's often up to the algorithm to determine whether or not other people see the things we post and, if not our posts, then what people end up viewing instead.

Green's video is all about how the algorithm has a way of deciding on our behalf what we think about and feel in the moment. And maybe, just maybe, that's not great for us.

In the video, he describes how taking a brief break from the internet earlier this year has helped him better understand that we are often controlled heavily by the people and companies who want us to participate in their existence. When we engage with something because "the algorithm" encouraged us to, someone somewhere is probably making money because of that. And maybe that doesn't feel great to think about.

We don't have to stop using the internet entirely to be happy. in fact, the internet can provide plenty of benefits for people who spend time on it. But it's not the worst idea to consider using the internet less than most of us probably do right now.

We don't have to let the internet fully dictate what we think or who we think about or how we are feeling. We can experience things online, but we can then also power everything down and go for a walk instead of dwelling on it for too long.

By choosing to not let online spaces control every aspect of your life, in a way, you're sort of winning.