I Ain't Buying It.

 Social Media used to be about communicating with people. There's a clue in the name. This is no longer the case. Today, nobody sees your post. They don't reply to you. Because that's not what this is for anymore. Posts are an irritant, some vestigial limb dragging along the ground, getting the way. This is why social media randomly bans posts. It doesn't like them. They get in the way of selling you shit. 

We used to believe the algorithm was smart. A silent, invisible personal shopper, sifting, curating, getting to know your likes and dislikes, honing away. If this was the model, it has been superseded by an idiot firing at a barn door with a blunderbuss. We don't really matter as people. We're just there as the wallets that want. They're going to show us everything. 

Sponsored pages are every third post on Facebook. Here's about an hour of my day in adverts: 

*Visit Las Vegas. 

*Retroanix - "Get your childhood vibes back with our console". 

*YerMatty - I actually have no idea what this is. It seems to be a man with a beard on holiday. 

*Historic Newspapers US - it's a printed scrapbook of old newspaper headlines. From America. Which I am not.  

*National Emergency Briefing - a group who are here to remind you how fucked everything is. 

*OkayPlayer - Raekwon talks about his influences. 

*HeinzUK - You can buy personalised tomato sauce now. 

*Desmond and Dempsey - Women's pyjamas. 

*500 Miles and True Brit Entertainment - An advert for a film starring someone called Roman Griffin Davis. Nope. 

*Ankhway - "Gummies" that promise enhanced immunity, better digestion and improved focus. 

*Myota - "Looking to optimise your gut health?"

*Ginsters - Pies. 

*Joe Bonamassa - "The Spirit of Rory: Live from Cork". 

*Retroanix - again. 

*Redbubble - Offering a poster of Heather Thomas whom I recognise as Jody from The Fall Guy. She is in a bikini. 

*Tertulia - A website builder for "authors". 

*MedExpress - Erectile dysfunction medicine. I can't believe its taken this long to get to erectile dysfunction medicine. They must know my demographic by now. 

*Ergonomist - It's a desk without a chair. You have to stand. Great for productivity, apparently. 

*GameDay News - "These movies are more likely to offend audiences now than when they were released." You don't say. 

*The Foldie - It's a handbag.  

Why would I record this? It's stupid and meaningless. But I think it's important to record that the malaise has hit society on every level. There is nowhere to hide. Technology, set up for you to communicate with your friends (that's not exactly why it was created, but most people are less creepy than its originators) has been curdled, twisted, bent into a resource for selling you things again. You do not matter, your relationships do not matter, your ridiculous opinions will be tolerated, for now, as long as you engage with the adverts, with the reels, with the lifestyle suggestions. These are the real community guidelines you must adhere to. I ain't buying it.