originally posted on cohost (rip)

there's something of a power fantasy to social media, the way i use it. curious moments pass me by that i barely notice: i quote a post i saw online to my friends, i ignore videos on my algorithm that talk about social media addiction, i scroll sleepily on my commute back home and i don't stop even when i've closed my eyes.

it's this feeling that i have a birds eye view of the world, even if rationally i know my algorithm is curated and censored.

when i'm scrolling, moments of change pass me by that i barely notice. it's not that the world is changing. i'm changing. that's what's addicting to me: to know i can change, and to know i can be shifted different by such small things. and it makes me think such small things are changing people all over the world. maybe i could track it, if i kept looking.

i assume that before the internet people had the same thoughts i did, except about physical world interactions. that's the thing about social media. you are constantly given choices—like? reblog? comment? the opportunity to define yourself and to change presents itself endlessly.

my friend recently showed me how easy it was to buy upvotes and go viral on reddit, though, so maybe i'll change my mind about it and grow up and move on.