The Algorithm Ain't Confused. You Are

“Why is it always booty, then God, then drama… like every time I open the app?” It’s not random. It’s rehearsed.

There’s a rhythm to the feed. One you don’t notice until you slow down enough to question it. It starts with something seductive; someone dancing for validation, angles curated for the highest likes. Then comes a carefully selected quote about trusting God or a caption that sounds deeply spiritual, but conveniently posted right between soft-core content and viral gossip. You swipe again, and now someone is crying, revealing trauma, a break-up, or death. And just like that, your emotions have been hijacked.

We’ve normalized this. We’ve normalized confusion. But ask yourself: is this stream of stimulation really nourishing you? Or are you simply addicted to the emotional spikes, trying to make sense of content that was never designed to center you? This isn't just disorganized media, it’s deliberate. The scroll is no longer just a casual habit; it’s a psychological loop, coded to mimic life but lacking any of its grounding.

Especially in Black digital media spaces, the loop has been perfected. Pages that once claimed to “amplify the culture” now operate more like dopamine dealers. With millions of followers, some of the most influential platforms in Black media rotate content that plays on a formula: lust for the click, God for the guilt, gossip for the thrill, trauma for the tears, and luxury for the envy. And it cycles like this daily. Hourly. Relentlessly. A specific high-frequency example of this is a page with over 29 million followers whose entire timeline flows like spiritual whiplash, bouncing between seduction, sermon, and scandal every few posts.

We get soft-core clips for attention, followed by a Bible verse to cleanse the timeline. Then baby mama drama to trigger conflict, then spiritual advice to soothe the rage. Then a celebrity overdose. Then a post about Black excellence. This isn’t rhythm. It’s fragmentation. And it’s targeting Black minds with precision.

The algorithm isn’t trying to help you heal. It’s trying to keep you engaged. Especially if you’re Black.

What makes this so dangerous is how subtle it is. You think you’re just “checking in” or “staying informed,” but what you’re really doing is surrendering your emotional stability to a digital current designed to never let you rest. The constant shifts between arousal, guilt, rage, and empathy are not harmless; they rewire your focus. They teach your body to expect stimulation instead of clarity, and confusion instead of peace. The screen becomes a mirror, but not one that reflects truth, one that distorts it.

What you give your attention to becomes your atmosphere. And atmosphere becomes identity. The reason it feels like nothing is sticking lately, why your mind feels foggy, your joy feels low, or your creativity feels blocked, isn’t always internal. Sometimes, it’s simply the result of constant exposure to content that interrupts your grounding. Every time you consume content, you invite it into your inner world. And most of us aren’t protecting that world. We scroll with the gates wide open.

You wouldn't let 30 strangers into your house talking over each other. So why let 30 narratives into your mind every 15 minutes?

This is the part we have to reclaim. Focus is not a luxury. It's a life force. Without it, we are at the mercy of anything that knows how to exploit our attention. And these platforms have mastered that art. They know when to show you lust, when to show you grief, when to feed you God, and when to spark outrage. They don't need you to stay balanced. They need you to remain reactive.

So what happens when you finally pause long enough to see the pattern? Something shifts. You begin to notice the loops. The recycling of the same archetypes. The emotional programming. You stop laughing at everything. You stop reacting to everything. And most importantly, you stop believing it's all harmless.

Healing isn’t scrolling.
Awareness isn’t consumption.
And peace isn’t found in chaos.

The real path forward isn't about deleting your account or calling out every brand; it's about finding a better way. It's about asking better questions. Why does this post have access to me? What energy does this account pull from me? Would I sit next to this voice all day in real life? If the answer is no, then it shouldn't be in your digital circle either. It's not about purity. It's about power. And when you realize how powerful your attention is, you become more selective with where it flows.

Things to Reflect On:

• Do I feel more centered or more scattered after scrolling?
• What themes keep showing up in my feed? Are they mine, or someone else’s programming?
• When was the last time I allowed my mind to be quiet without needing stimulation?
• Is this content helping me build the life I want, or distracting me from it?

The moment you name the loop, you start to weaken it. You remember that your awareness is the real algorithm. That you are the curator, not just the consumer. That the patterns in your feed aren’t just external, they reflect something deeper happening inside. And when you stop accepting them blindly, you start asking what you’ve been unconsciously agreeing to. This isn’t just about media. It’s about memory. Your memory. Your time. Your focus. Your mental peace.

Once you see the pattern, it loses its power.
And you stop being a passenger in someone else’s algorithm.

Don't just repost, reflect. Sit with it. Feel what's been lurking beneath the scroll. Then come back, not as prey, but as a mirror-holder. You don't owe your attention to chaos. You get to decide what's sacred in your life. And from this point forward…Choose wisely.