I had a brief encounter with FaceBook

for a few years I was part of this community

collecting friends and liking their posts

but then I became disillusioned

I did not appreciate the way my feed was being manipulated

algorithms were deciding what I should see

with the sole objective of keeping my attention

so they could push more ads into my feed

at first I just stopped posting but then I stopped reading

next I deleted facebook from my phone and computer

eventually I closed my account

it was a great relief to break free

now I make my own choices of what to see

its not just FaceBook that uses algorithms

YouTube does the same thing

using artificial intelligence to determine what keeps you interested

this might be harmless for the majority of the population 

but its a different story for individuals with strange beliefs

without social media these people generally remain isolated

they typically browse the internet for conspiracy theories

algorithms feed them more conspiracies 

eventually they latch onto one like believing the earth is flat

these individuals find comfort in joining a community of flat earthers

research has shown that most flat earthers stumbled upon the conspiracy via social media

what kind of world are we creating for our children and grandchildren?