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 in the way, scratched and bleeding. This is why social media randomly bans posts. It doesn't like them. They're an impediment to 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, Santa filling your stocking. If this was the model, it's been superseded by an idiot firing a blunderbuss at a barn door. 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. And I am not from America.  

*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? This virulent strain of poison. It's so stupid and meaningless. But I think it's important to record the malaise has hit society on every level. There's nowhere to hide. This 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 twisted and bent into a resource for just selling you a lot of rubbish again. Just like everything else has. You don't matter, your relationships don't matter, your ridiculous opinions will be tolerated, for now, as long as you engage with the adverts, with the reels, with the lifestyle suggestions. As long as you consume. These are the real community guidelines you must adhere to. I ain't buying it.