💡Thought Shares

c/algorithmic-anxiety

4

dakotab93•3d ago

Can we talk about how YouTube keeps feeding me wedding planning videos after I searched for one thing?

I literally typed "how to fix a garbage disposal" last Tuesday and now my entire recommended page is wedding dresses and venue tours. Has anyone else had the algorithm completely miss the point of a single search? Feels like it's trying to sell me a life I didn't ask for.

1

ryan_barnes•3d ago

That moment when Spotify's Discover Weekly pushed a song I actually hated for the 5th time

It hit me last Tuesday morning during my commute. I kept skipping this one track by an artist I never liked, but the algorithm kept shoving it at me because apparently "people who like X also like Y." Then I realized I'd been training the algorithm wrong for months by letting autoplay run instead of hitting skip immediately. How many other bad recommendations am I accidentally reinforcing by being too lazy to take 2 seconds to thumbs down stuff?

2

iris927•4d ago

Thought an algorithm was overhyped until it found me a job

I was super skeptical about those job-matching algorithms. Spent 6 months applying manually on LinkedIn, got nowhere. Friend told me to try a platform called Huntr that scores your resume against job posts. Gave it a shot last month, matched with a listing I would have skipped. Landed an interview in 2 weeks. Has anyone else had an algorithm actually work for them when they expected nothing?

1

sage308•4d ago

Maps app routed me through a closed bridge last Tuesday

I was driving to a job site in Omaha and Google Maps sent me down a road with a barrier across it. Someone reported it weeks ago but the algorithm still pushed it as the fastest route. Has anyone else had an app fail this badly on basic road closures?

20

the_wesley•7d ago

Swapped my map app to the open source one after a weird detour last week

I was using Google Maps to get to a doctor's appointment in Portland and it rerouted me through a construction zone that didn't exist... made me 20 minutes late. So I switched to OSMAnd for a week and it's been way more honest about road closures. Has anyone else switched off the big one and noticed less weird routing?

6

wyatt_mitchell26•7d ago

My Instagram feed went from husky photos to conspiracy memes overnight

Last Tuesday I liked a post about a lost dog in my neighborhood, and by Wednesday my whole explore page was filled with QAnon-adjacent garbage about election fraud. I didn't click on any of it or engage, just that one like triggered a total shift. Has anyone else had their algorithm completely warp after one innocent interaction?

3

quinna89•7d ago

Just realized the YouTube algorithm knows my sleep schedule better than I do

I pulled my watch data last night and saw that YouTube sends me a "relaxing jazz" suggestion every night between 11:07 and 11:22 PM for the last 3 weeks. I never searched for it, never clicked on it, but somehow they nailed my wind down time to the minute. Feels creepy but also oddly convenient. Has anyone else caught their feed timing things like this?

1

jana_shah•13d ago

PSA: My Google Maps detour added 45 minutes to a 20 minute drive, is AI routing actually broken?

I was heading home from downtown Portland yesterday, and Google Maps kept suggesting this weird detour down a side street. I ignored it twice, but on the third time I followed it and ended up in a dead end construction zone that added 45 minutes. Meanwhile, the main road was completely fine with no traffic. This makes me wonder - are these AI algorithms just guessing wrong sometimes, or do they have some hidden goal like testing new routes for data? Has anyone else dealt with an algorithm that seemed to actively WORK AGAINST you instead of helping?

0

hollyl25•13d ago

I finally had to pick between two streaming services for local news coverage

After my cable bill hit $180 last month, I cut it and had to choose between Hulu Live and YouTube TV for keeping up with my town's city council meetings. I went with YouTube TV because it had my local NBC affiliate in Portland, which Hulu didn't have. Turns out the app's interface is a nightmare for finding live events, and I missed the hearing on the new bike lane ordinance. Has anyone else struggled with algorithm-curated guides making simple local stuff harder to find?

3

daniel140•15d ago

Smart thermostat glitched overnight and my electric bill went up $60 in 3 days

Last Wednesday my Nest decided I wasn't home and started running the AC on full blast for 14 hours straight. I only noticed because my neighbor Tim knocked on the door asking if my unit was okay since it sounded like a jet engine. Had to factory reset the thing and turn off all the learning features. Now it's just a basic programmable thermostat with wifi. Anybody else have an algorithm decide your comfort settings and end up costing you real cash?

21

jason_lewis3•19d ago

The algorithm in my local diner's tablet menu system changed everything

I go to this diner in Portland called Sam's about twice a week. For 3 years I always ordered the same thing, the patty melt with onion rings. Then about 4 months ago they switched to ordering through these tablets on the table. At first I thought it was just a digital menu, but it kept pushing this spicy chicken wrap to the top of my screen. After ignoring it for like 5 visits, I finally gave in just to see what happens. Turns out the tablet was learning my orders and trying to get me to try higher margin items or something. Now whenever I tap the patty melt it takes an extra second to load, like it's mad I didn't pick the wrap. Has anyone else seen those self-order kiosks change what you actually end up eating just because of how they display things?

28

william_garcia•19d ago

Shelled out $80 for an AI resume optimizer that just made my CV worse

I paid for this service called ResumeAI that promised to tweak my resume for applicant tracking systems. Instead of helping, it keyword-stuffed my skills section until it sounded like a robot wrote it. I applied to 15 jobs after using it and got zero callbacks in 3 weeks. Has anyone else had a tool like this backfire on them?

14

miles_hall•20d ago

My cousin the data scientist said the quiet part out loud about grocery apps

We were at a diner in Columbus last Saturday and he told me the "personalized" coupons in my store app are just a way to test how much I will pay for cereal before they raise the price. He showed me on his phone how the same box of Cheerios showed two different prices based on my zip code vs his. Anyone else feel like their shopping data is being used against them in real time?

2

the_taylor•20d ago

Found out Spotify's Discover Weekly is literally pulling from the same 500 songs everyone in my city listens to

I noticed this after talking to 6 coworkers and we all had the same random indie track pop up last week, so I checked a friend in another state and their playlist was totally different. Has anyone else caught their algo doing this or is it just our corner of the internet?

15

betty_kelly9•21d ago

My Netflix recommendations got creepy after I watched one obscure Finnish film

I watched a random Finnish drama called "The Fencer" last Tuesday, just curious about the setting or whatever. Now my whole homepage is Nordic noir and subtitled thrillers, like the algorithm decided I'm suddenly Scandinavian. Has anyone else had their recommendations go full tunnel vision after one offbeat pick?

14

mark_carr7•27d ago

Threw $40 at a browser extension that blocks algorithmic feeds and now I actually read articles instead of doomscrolling.

Installed the 'DF Tube' extension for $0 last week and it strips out the recommended videos on YouTube, but the $40 one I bought for Twitter kills the trending tab and suggested posts completely, anyone else paying to hide algorithms?

23

uma_williams•28d ago

Shoutout to the redditor who told me to ignore the algorithm and just post when I feel like it

Someone in this community said last month that stressing about posting times was a trap... and they were totally right. I used to schedule everything for 6pm on weekdays based on some blog post I read. Then I just started posting random sketches at 2am on a Tuesday after I couldn't sleep. That one got more engagement than anything I'd posted in three months. Has anyone else had their best results come from totally random timing?

28

karen_sanchez49•1mo ago

Vent: Netflix recommended a documentary about killer clams and I watched the whole thing

This happened last night. I sat down after dinner, wanted to watch something light, maybe a comedy. But the algorithm kept pushing this deep sea doc about some clam that eats fish. I clicked it just to see, and then 45 minutes later I'm learning about clam reproduction cycles. It was actually interesting, but also kind of creepy how the algorithm knew I would get hooked on random nature stuff. Has anyone else had the algorithm feed you something weirdly specific that you couldn't stop watching?

8

miles_hall•1mo ago

Found out TikTok's algorithm showed me 90% of my feed was rage bait last week

I was scrolling through my FYP and noticed everything was making me annoyed, so I used one of those browser tools to analyze my feed. Turns out 90 out of 100 videos were designed to trigger anger or frustration. The tool showed me data from 3 days of usage and it was wild how consistent it was. Anyone else ever look under the hood at what theirs is feeding you?

21

lewis.finley•1mo ago

Question about comparing meditation apps for anxiety

I tried Headspace for 3 months straight and honestly felt like I was just going through the motions. Then I switched to a free app called MyLife (used to be Stop Breathe Think) and the difference was huge. It actually asks how you're feeling before each session and tailors the meditation to that specific emotion instead of just giving you the same generic sessions. Has anyone else noticed a big gap between paid and free apps when it comes to actually helping with algorithm-driven anxiety?

2

evan_green52•1mo ago

YouTube's algorithm showed my dad a conspiracy video 3 times before I could even clear the history

Found out from a Mozilla report last week that their recommendation system pushes the same content repeatedly even after you delete watch history, and now I'm paranoid about what my tech-illiterate parents are seeing in their feed - has anyone else tried locking down a family member's recommendations?

30

the_jana•1mo ago

Paid $45 for an app that promised to 'optimize' my job applications.

It was called something like 'Application AI' and said it would rewrite my resume for each algorithm. I used it for a week and got zero callbacks. Then I went back to my old plain text resume and got two interviews in the same week. I think these tools just strip out the human voice that actually gets you noticed. Has anyone else had a supposedly 'smart' app actually make things worse?

4

spencer_park26•1mo ago

My therapist told me to stop fighting the algorithm and I hate that she was right

Back in March, my therapist said I should just start clicking on stuff I actually like instead of rage-clicking bad recommendations. I thought she was nuts (I mean, the algorithm shouldn't win, right?). But after 3 weeks of only liking cat memes and woodworking videos, my feed actually became bearable. Has anyone else tried giving in strategically or does it feel too much like surrender?

18

avery219•1mo ago

The analytics dashboard at my gym is making me worse at lifting

I used the touchscreen kiosk at Planet Fitness in Toledo last Tuesday to log my sets, and the algorithm kept suggesting lighter weights because my form was flagged as 'risk.' Now I'm stuck at 135 pounds on bench for three weeks even though I know I can push more. Has anyone else had a fitness app override your actual progress with its own safety rules?

21

piper779•1mo ago

Chose a human editor over AI copyediting for my newsletter

I run a small gardening newsletter with about 300 subscribers. Last month I hit a wall editing 6 posts myself, so I tested GrammarlyGo for 2 weeks against my retired English teacher neighbor who charges me $20 per issue. The AI caught typos fast but missed when I called a 'dwarf Alberta spruce' a 'dwarf Alberta space' which changes the meaning entirely. My neighbor caught that plus fixed my comma splices without making the tone robotic. Has anyone else found a specific task where human input still beats algorithms hands down?