stop chasing algorithms, chase authenticity

what do you see the moment you open your eyes in the morning? what awakens you to the world outside your room? I know more often than not, a lot of us will fall prey to the cell phone sitting on our bedside tables, looking for a quick hit of dopamine. Sure, the self-help books and videos tell us not to use social media within the first hour of waking up, but it’s just this time, right?

Besides, I’m tired and I didn’t sleep well and I just want to take a moment to rot in bed before I have to force myself to face the day. What’s so wrong about that?

I’m not here to condemn social media usage. We’ve seen enough of that online and offline and we’ve heard it all before. Quite frankly, what you or I do in our spare time is no one’s business.

But I’m tired of chasing trends and posting content that all the people on TikTok are saying to post to get likes and follows. Don’t get me wrong, some trends are fun. I enjoy participating if it’s one I actually like or find humor in. But what happened to the authenticity of just existing in a space online, presenting oneself as who they truly are?

What happened to the days where you just posted a random thought and didn’t curate content to appeal to the masses?

No matter what social media you log into, if you are trying to grow something, if you are trying to gain a following, you are chasing the algorithm.

I like TikTok because people tend to be slightly more authentic than they are on other sites. Facebook, at this point, is atrocious. And Instagram… well, if you’ve followed me for a little bit, you know my beef with them. Rather, with the entire company of Meta.

TikTok has taught me things. It’s introduced to me to BookTok, for better or worse. It’s introduced me to WaterTok and SkincareTok and JournalTok. There are facets of social media I enjoy. There are trends that are fun to participate in. There is nothing wrong with having fun.

But I’m tired of living in a world where, to be an author, I have to also be a content creator. I don’t have the desire to film myself or even TALK about myself on camera. I struggle to talk about my books, which is why unless it’s something super fun for me to post, my TikToks about my books are a little… cringey.

I enjoy authenticity. I want to know the depth and the truth behind the content I consume. I want more than just a doomscroll app that lets me rot away in bed on the weekends and evenings after work. I want to find content I enjoy, content that changes me by the end of it.

I have found that here, on Substack, but I can’t help but wonder why we have all fallen prey to the idea that we have to chase the algorithm. Who decides the trends? Does someone create a funny video and we copy and paste the format over and over for cheap clicks and views?

Or do the apps suddenly create trends that we try to abide by for the follower count we desire?

What is baffling to me is the notion that we need to have a huge following to be successful.

Pierce Brown, author of Red Rising, does not exist on TikTok (except for when Brandon Sanderson makes videos with him, of course.) Pierce Brown is pretty successful.

Brandon Sanderson has made a name for himself before social media took off.

In the 2010s, YA dystopian author Suzanne Collins had a popular series and movies based off her books. The Hunger Games. Social media existed, but not in the magnitude it does now.

Maggie Stiefvater, author of The Raven Cycle, didn’t need social media to become a GOOD author.

I found The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes at random at my library and decided to check it out. I didn’t see a social media post. It did soon go on to blow up on social media (which was deserved in my opinion), but before social media, we found books by trial and error. We found products by trial and error.

We wrote stories by trial and error.

There was so much more meaning than the age of social media. Soon, I will post about the affect social media has had on books and the publishing industry, but for now, I just want to see more authenticity in the content I consume.

I don’t think social media is the most evil thing. I don’t even think it’s inherently bad. I think it’s a tool, and people can use tools for good or for evil. But people can also choose to stop serving the algorithm and make content they want to make.

We don’t have to chase trends and fads to be successful.

There is no satisfaction at the end of the tunnel of content creation if all we are, if all we do, is chase the latest trends just for a chance at gaining followers. There is strategy in some trends and there is fun in posting content you want to post, even if that IS on a trending audio or post.

I am tired of society losing the uniqueness we should all be thriving on.

So stop chasing the algorithm and begging it to bless you. Chase the heart of why you are doing what you’re doing. Your people will find you.