Platforms like TikTok and YouTube have democratized fame. A teenager in their bedroom can command a larger audience than a traditional cable network.
The algorithm has its virtues: it surfaces obscure artists, reunites viewers with forgotten classics, and personalizes the firehose of content into a manageable stream. But it also creates echo chambers, rewards outrage and novelty over nuance, and encourages what critics call "content sludge"—endless, low-effort videos optimized for watch time rather than insight. Holed.16.10.25.Jynx.Maze.Anal.Training.XXX.1080...