The Math That Keeps You Hooked

Ever feel like Instagram can read your mind? You’re craving brownies, and suddenly your feed is filled with recipes. You chat with your friends about a TV show, and shorts on it start appearing. It’s not a coincidence - it’s calculated. At the heart of these highly attractive apps that make you want to scroll through reels all day is a web of algorithms - instructions, fundamentally powered by mathematical concepts, that decide what content reaches the user.. Aside from the obvious metrics of checking which kinds of posts the user is interested in, such as what they like or comment on, social media apps even track how long you stay on a post and even the kinds of emojis you use. All this helps gauge the user better, making the videos more customised. The collected data is then analysed using statistics, probability and linear algebra - different ways to handle large amounts of information and gauge what your possible interest areas may be. Probability and statistics help these algorithms predict what you might enjoy next. Linear algebra and matrices organise huge amounts of information quickly, while calculus helps fine-tune predictions based on tiny changes in your behaviour. Machine learning, a form of applied math, allows platforms to keep improving as they learn more about you. However, this can have its fair share of risks too. Sneaky algorithms can have significant adverse effects on mental health and self-control. Firstly, the information overload from watching reel after reel can have a huge mental toll on the brain, making one feel exhausted, overwhelmed and dazed. Once the user is addicted, loss of time is only a small issue in the large scheme of things. You think you’ve barely been on your phone for 20 minutes, but 2 hours have passed. This can make a person feel inadequate and unaccomplished. Lastly, comparing your life to the lives of influencers and feeling severe depression and anxiety is a very real problem: in a 2022 US study, 32% of teenage girls claimed feeling worse about their bodies and 41% of young adults reported a decline in their mental wellbeing after social media ‘scrolling’, according to a 2023 UK study. These are just some examples proving how harmful addictive scrolling can be. So the next time you scroll, remember - behind every reel you watch is a lot of math working hard to keep you hooked.