How Algorithms Decide What We Read
When I was a kid, I saw my grandparents buying novels, magazines, and newspapers regularly from the small shop at the end of our street. At the same time, I also saw my dad using a local library to borrow more books. Once they had all their books at home, in the evenings or on weekends everyone would discuss the stories, the authors, the genres, and what they liked or didn’t like.
Just through these conversations,
awareness about certain books would spread, and it often acted as a form of
marketing for new or lesser-known books. It also allowed people to explore a
wide variety of genres they might not have discovered otherwise. Reading was
not just personal; it was social and organic.
But now, in the age of modern
technology, it feels like algorithms are deciding what we read. It shows us what
is popular, trending, or similar to what we have already read. That means we might
miss out on genres, authors or stories outside our usual patterns. The surprise
element of stumbling upon something completely different is reduced.
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Our reading becomes narrower, less exploratory and more predictable. The excitement of discovering a hidden gem or a book recommended by a friend gets replaced by digital suggestions that are designed to keep us clicking, buying, and consuming. Reading should be about curiosity, discovery and the joy of wandering into unknown worlds.
Algorithms are useful and needed but they should not replace the human element such as conversations, recommendations, and the excitement of choosing a book on instinct. So try to have a convo with the fellow book buddies and try to read and discover more books than ever.
This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2025
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ReplyDeleteIt is unfortunately true that social media giants are only catering to our clicks and our other interests thereby get curbed. Interacting with others might only be the way for us to notice others...
ReplyDeleteReally thought‑provoking post! I love how you’ve unpacked how algorithms shape what we read and see (and sometimes miss). Thanks for making me think a little deeper about how my feed is curated.
ReplyDeleteAI is stealing the organic ways of life, the joy of book discussions are being replaced by algorithms deciding our tbr. And unfortunately this might be the trend, moving forward.
ReplyDeleteAhh what a nostalgic post! I remember those good old beautiful chandmama books that mom used to get for me. Social media is truly scary.
ReplyDeleteYour post definitely took me down memory lane to the library I went to as a child and teenager, and the magazine vendor who brought us magazines. Unfortunately, what we read is dictated by Al, and hence we must go back to reading just what we please.
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing this. I used to visit local libraries with my mother in bengal all my childhood and still miss them.
ReplyDeleteI remember the excitement of browsing for books in stores and libraries. Today, it is a fact that algorithms rule many of our choices. I completely agree that we should communicate with fellow authors and follow our hearts rather than depending on algorithms to help us make our choices.
ReplyDeleteHow nice that you practically had a book club within your own family at home! Even now, one way to expand one's reading repertoire is to join a book club. The choice is then varied, and the discussions throw up so many perspectives!
ReplyDeleteLibraries are still there today. We have just chosen to be slaves of technology in general and fallen into the comfort zone of our mechanised lives. The less we depend on technology the better it is for our overall well-being. Algorithms, like you rightly pointed out, restrict our exposure to the diversity that the world has to offer us.
ReplyDeleteAll my Blogchatter Half Marathon 2025 posts