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?

3 comments

3 Comments

emerym361mo ago

Clam reproduction sounds way more interesting than I'd expect from a shellfish.

wren6381mo ago

You said "way more interesting than I'd expect" but actually clam reproduction is pretty wild for a bivalve. They release eggs and sperm into the water at the same time, and the larvae drift around as plankton before settling down. It's basically a giant underwater lottery, which feels way more dramatic than most people think.

piper7791mo ago

Hold on, I gotta push back on this. I think the algorithm is way creepier than people give it credit for. My feed served me a documentary about competitive eating once, and it was supposed to be a one-time thing, but now it keeps suggesting hot dog contest recaps and mukbang videos. It's not some genius picking out your hidden love of nature. It's a machine learning your weak points and feeding you junk that keeps you glued to the screen. That clam doc was probably recommended just because it had a high completion rate and fit a generic "bizarre nature" tag. You got tricked into watching 45 minutes of clam sex, plain and simple.