The Flat Age: How Algorithms Limit Our Tastes and Culture

Why is a world that champions individuality and diversity losing its aesthetic and taste?

The profound impact of algorithms is only now beginning to emerge…

Everything is starting to become flat, shallow, and boring.

It turns out that Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix are not just rewriting the rules of the internet,

but could also destroy our cultural vitality in the offline world!

The sharpest tech insights and most profound cultural reflections for the AI generation

In today's society, algorithms are pervasive. From the Facebook and Instagram feeds we scroll through, to YouTube's recommended videos, to the login pages of streaming platforms, everything is a result of algorithms filtering content based on user preferences. Technological advancements allow everyone to find content they're interested in more quickly, eliminating the need to spend a lot of time researching on their own. But is the situation truly that simple and wonderful?

Writer Cheka, who has unique observations and insights into contemporary digital culture, offers thought-provoking views and criticisms on the role of algorithms. He believes that the algorithms used by these platforms lead people to see only the most popular content, and this algorithm-filtered content often follows certain patterns or characteristics. To gain traffic, creators flock to produce similar types of works, and people's preferences thus become increasingly uniform, making culture more boring and flat. Products that can be quickly understood and enjoyed thrive, while works requiring time and effort to savor gradually disappear. The internet once fostered diverse exchanges and communities, but now algorithms are flattening everything into homogeneous content—but this phenomenon is not irreversible.

Through "The Flat Age," we will understand the recommendation mechanisms of algorithms, realize their enormous impact, and begin to learn how to master them, even envisioning a cultural landscape without them.

The Flat Age, Revealed in Depth—

➢ Is the claim that algorithms are tailored for users actually a lie? What addictive traps are hidden in recommendation mechanisms?

➢ Why are viral works on social media and streaming platforms always so similar? How are these patterns formed?

➢ Why is curation the hope and guide of the Flat Age? And how can we practice curation in our daily lives?