The United States of Hypnosis

I never asked to see a video of an old man being thrown into the sky by a bison. And yet, for several days last week, I couldn't avoid it. Over and over again the video appeared, manifesting itself in front of my eyes. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter; the original, the reactions, and the analysis. Every third thing I scrolled past, it seemed, included this man in suspenders being thrown into the air by a gigantic charging bovine. Then, for a few days, I received updates on the man's health by way of scrolling past news articles, random Facebook pages, and so on. The topic even came up in person more than once, with my parents asking me if I had seen the video, and providing me updates on the man's health as well. 

As you know, viral videos are nothing new. In a past life, I was an expert on viral marketing and so I know that a suddenly-popular video shared across multiple digital platforms is not a new phenomenon. But the way in which these videos are "discovered" and "shared" is new, at least in the last ten years, and it ain't just clips of a man being ragdolled into sky cartwheels that are forced in front of our face...

Before 2016 or so, in order to engage with most digital content, we had to actively search for it and decide to CLICK on the article/video/content that caught our attention. Or, perhaps someone we knew and loved and trusted shared that thing. Now, though, we just swipe our finger and there it is! The Algorithmic Feed learns and adapts and actually predicts what you might enjoy seeing next. To that end, it can be said that we do not ride upon the Algorithmic Feed, but rather the Algorithmic Feed rides upon us. 

This new hyper-optimized delivery system of doom helped me witness the assassination of Charlie Kirk, for example, regardless of whether or not I wanted to see him get shot in the neck. When I do decide to scroll, which is often, I regularly see plane crashes shortly after they happen, regardless of how far away the plane crash might be from my physical reality. Aviation disasters and major cultural flashpoints aside, including ICE's now-regular extrajudicial lynchings, I'm served videos of murders and manslaughter and death and violence and sexual intrigue. 

Of course, in addition to these salacious bursts R-to-X rated content, my Algorithmic Feed also consists of cat videos, absurdist humor, clips of Pope Leo, yodeling, trains, philosophy, crows, astrology, and whatever else I might momentarily be interested in, all rotating around in jussst the right fashion to keep me scrolling (and scrolling, and scrolling).  Then there's the therapy-adjacent rhetoric delivered by strangers who may or may not be qualified to discuss the topics upon which they've become "famous," that always seem to reaffirm -- no matter the situation -- that I'm in the right OR that I have been wronged. 

I try my best to remain highly skeptical of my own algorithm, actively acknowledging that how I interact with posts/clips/content while scrolling informs what it might show me next. Most of us seem to think/understand that our Algorithmic Feed reflects our interests, to some extent, and so there is an implicit responsibility for what the Feed ultimately chooses to show us. This has been a long-noted reality of the internet as individuals occasionally "out" themselves by sharing a screenshot of a bizarre advertisement or recommendation, asking why it's shown to them, only to be assailed that the reason the ad or recommendation would be show to them is because their algorithm thinks they want to see it. 

I think about my Algorithmic Feed regularly. I get excited when I do accidentally steer it toward yodeling or crows, since that seems like such a better place to be than the videos that reaffirm some belief I already hold, some feeling I already have, some impulse I might want to indulge, or violence and death and plane crashes and porn. 

But I have to imagine not everyone pays attention to (or attempts to steer) their algorithm. And despite my active attempts to do that, the algorithm still knows when I pause on a video out of curiosity/anger/shame/etc. and tunes itself accordingly. 

Since the early 2010s, and probably before that, we have all been participants in the largest scientific experiment in human history as technology companies and neuroscientists have partnered to hack the human mind, to understand what it is that makes someone pause for five seconds instead of three, and to hold their attention as long as possible. 

I don't pretend to know the science behind how the algorithms work. Because of my ignorance, I have long believed that technology companies should be mandated by our government -- that is, the organized body meant to reflect and protect the will of the People -- to release their algorithms for academics and technologists to review, so they can make clear to consumers what this math-based content delivery system is actually constructed to do. 

Our Algorithmic Feeds increasingly control our perception of reality. I often wonder what an ICE Agent's Algorithmic Feed looks like. What do their videos show? What does their violence look like? 

Do you ever think about what Adolf Hitler and Joseph Turkeysound would've made of digital, algorithmic-tuned propaganda? How delighted  they would've been! I wonder, often, how quickly they would've realized its power -- its ability to advance their evil efforts, to accomplish their ends, to more efficiently destroy humanity by way of brainwashing?

I have invoked the phrase "hypnosis" to describe the current atmosphere in the United States three times in my past writing for Sometimes Weekly: 

1. July 14, 2024: "And so we must admit: the United States stands on the brink of national hypnosis. There’s no longer an easy way to talk about politics in America. This is very much a feature of the hypnosis now sweeping across the country. History tells us this kind of unideology can lead to a period of prolonged darkness." The Riptides of History.
2. January 13, 2025: "As we’re about to enter the second Trump administration, we must admit the Democratic Party is not positioned to respond, as necessary, to present threats posed by the unreality and hypnosis sweeping the nation. What’s become clear, as Party insiders scramble to explain the 2024 election loss with Data and Facts, so as to position themselves for power and financial gain in the 2026 and 2028 elections, is that they’ve entirely abandoned any hope of organizing a serious opposition party." Where is the Democratic Party?
3. May 12, 2025: "It will be no surprise that, since the inauguration, I’ve been deeply troubled by the actions of the second Trump administration and the resulting MAGA-induced hypnosis that continues to spread, uncontrolled, across the nation. The regime appears intent on accelerating our descent toward a complete and presently unimaginable darkness: Our way of life is under attack; we are at war. [...] Monitor your algorithm and its influence over your thought. Determine which influences which. Adjust accordingly." Optimism Despite MAGA Darkness.

This piece doesn't really have a conclusion; these are ongoing thoughts. In the past I've written about the Intellectual Dark Web, which seems to have some relevance here as well. 

I may revisit this piece in the future and offer a bit more. But for now, as always, thanks for reading!