It started with a bright idea for a particular shirt that I thought one of my sons would like for Christmas. So I typed it into my search engine and began browsing potential options. And then… for the next week, every time I went on social media, there was shirt after shirt being advertised. You’ve got to love algorithms—not!
An algorithm is a set of rules that decides what happens next. In the social media world, the decision-making process is an algorithm: an app looks at what you’ve liked before, compares you to similar users, predicts what will keep your attention, and then shows that content first.
Theologian Henri Nouwen reminds us, “We are shaped by the voices we listen to.” Our world is filled with a cacophony of ‘algorithms’ that are not only attempting to get our attention but also to direct it in a particular direction.
With the new year approaching, I find myself wondering how I might recalibrate my own algorithm. What do I want to spend more time doing, and what do I want to spend less time doing? To whom do I want to give more attention, and to whom less? What will fill me with awe, wonder, and curiosity, and truly be intellectually stimulating? What will feed and nurture my soul?
One of my favorite lines from Paul to the faith community in Rome is, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”
The beginning of a new year may be the perfect time to exercise our agency and set our own algorithm.
“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” —Simone Weil
BP