Those of us who work independently, who are freelancers, who have a mission (who need to pay our rent) need to get our name and message out there. To achieve that, we are dependent on the algorithms that decide what gets seen, what gets suppressed, and what gets enhanced. There is lots of advice out there, books, videos, coaches, training, all on how to play and manipulate the algorithms and how to bring them on our side. That seems great: learn to play the game and reap the results.
But what if the rules of the game are directly opposed to my mission?
It has never been a secret that algorithms exist to enhance their owners’ profits. That is to be expected when you make free use of a platform. What is becoming increasingly clear is how this profit maximisation works. Some of it is out in the open now. For example, algorithms have worked out that maximum profit comes from extending engagement and that the most effective way to keep people engaged is to spark their anger, fear, and outrage. In other words, actively undermining their mental health by keeping their stress response system very active.
Through the research that I have done for my upcoming book ‘The Trauma Root of Social Work: Beyond the Trauma Wall’ and am doing for the new book I am working on now, I have come to recognise some more of the insidious methods and aims of these algorithms.
Keeping our stress levels high cuts off our access to much of our brain cortex, where we do our complex thinking and impulse control. It keeps our amygdala activated and in charge. Our amygdala runs on our emotions and basic survival protocols and lacks impulse control. Its function is to keep us alive in practical life-and-death situations, for example, meeting a bear. In such a situation, impulse control equals hesitation and is likely to get you killed. This is a great survival mechanism to make it in the outdoors. It is a major vulnerability when circumstances are being manufactured to trick our nervous system into thinking that we are under serious threat.
Getting around our impulse control is a great way to keep us hooked. To make us scroll longer than we intended to, to get us to make senseless purchases, all the algorithms need to do is keep our nervous system feeling like we are in danger.
In addition to this, ‘successful manipulation’ of the algorithms will help tap into the physiological systems behind addiction. Make sure you post often! Provide instant gratification! But also: leave people hanging and wanting more! Make people click and comment to give them a sense of (pseudo-)connection and enhance your status! In other words: take control of their dopamine production.
If you want the engagement, the network expansion, the conversion rate, and the work, this is the game you have to play. These are the rules. If you play by the rules and follow all the advice (and make sure that your gender is, or change your settings to, male), it may well pay off. But at what price?
As I am thinking of different ways of sharing content, by myself and in cooperation with others, I am contemplating this. My mission is to help people break down the trauma wall, to help them not be at the mercy of activated stress response systems and coping mechanisms. People who carry unprocessed trauma are particularly easy to ‘keep in their amygdala’ because their system is in survival mode anyway, and stress and coping mechanisms are easily triggered into activation. Beyond the Trauma Wall is all about making people aware of these processes and of what can help people regulate and avoid being stuck in high stress levels and reactive behaviours.
I am not saying that algorithms have nothing good to offer. We have all come across things we did not know would be beneficial or helpful through their suggestions. Nor am I saying that I will have nothing to do with it. I still post and put out content, and through doing so, necessarily interact with algorithms. What I am saying is that I do not want to strengthen a system that plays into and exploits the trauma and stress responses in people by following its rules. This is where the rubber of my ethics and integrity hits the road of a reality dominated by algorithms. It is easy to think this is cute or to dismiss my admission that it can seem nuts, as long as it is theoretical. It is a big dilemma. I need to get my messages out there, and I need to earn money. But sticking to what I believe to be right and to my mission is more important to me than big profits or even financial security. I will post and put out content, but in a way that feels right to me, not letting myself be strong-armed into ‘following the rules’ that are counter to what I stand for.
This stance may make some people shy away from working with me, I completely understand and respect that. In a way, however, I also feel that taking this stance, refusing to play follow the rules, and breaking the mould may be exactly what will lead me to like-minded people and organisations and will help me achieve what I’m setting out to do in a different way. If you are interested in working together on finding ways to connect without a stress-based approach and to break down the trauma wall, please be in touch.
Please share this blog to help spread awareness.