> Is it the algorithm or is it the preference of the Users which is the problem. I'd argue the latter.

> Algorithms serve what Users engage with

User engagement isn't actually the same thing as user preference, even though I think many people and companies take the shortcut of equating the two.

People often engage more with things they actually don't like, and which create negative feelings.

These users might score higher on engagement metrics when fed this content, but actually end up leaving the platform or spending less time there, or would at least answer in a survey question that they don't like some or most of the content they are seeing.

This is a major reason I stopped using Threads many months ago. Their algorithm is great at surfacing posts that make me want to chime in with a correction, or click to see the rest of the truncated story. But that doesn't mean I actually liked that experience.

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cyrusradfar 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Thanks for the thoughtful response.

Curious about this. Don't have an angle, just trying to survey your perspective.

You shared: > People often engage more with things they actually don't like, and which create negative feelings.

Do you think this is innate or learned? And, in either case, can it be unlearned.

	▲	stetrain an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I think it’s situational. If you measure which TV shows and movies I watch, that’s a vote of preference. If you measure which news headlines evoke a comment from me, that’s a measure of engagement but not necessarily preference. People respond to a lot of things that annoy them, and I think it’s a pretty common human trait. Advertising your business with bright lights and noise can be effective, but we often ban this in our towns and cities because we prefer life without them.
	▲	judahmeek an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Not OP, but I think most of us have an instinct to correct things that we think are wrong. I don't think such instincts can be unlearned, but they can be held in check by the realization that naive attempts to fix things can make things worse, including how we feel about ourselves. This conscious inhibition, however, requires cognitive effort.