Breaking Up With Autoplay
Not Letting Algorithms Decide What I Listen To + Watch
It started innocently enoughājust one song, one show, one suggested video.
The autoplay feature was there to help. āLet us keep the vibe going,ā it promised. āWeāve got you,ā it whispered as the next song rolled in or a new series queued up.
But now, I find myself regularly hours deep in content I didnāt ask for, watching or listening to things I donāt even like.
Somewhere along the way, autoplay stopped being auto-convenient and started becoming auto-controlling. So Iāve decided: Iām breaking up with autoplay.
For the record, I can waste my time all by myself.
Iām a pro time waster. Iām sure Iām not alone.
THE ILLUSION OF PERSONALIZATION
The streaming services love to boast about their recommendation engines.
They say they know me. That their algorithms are built to delight me with content I will love. And once in a while, they do strike gold. A great indie artist whoās songs are new-to-me. A quirky docuseries I devour in a weekend.
But for every hit? There are dozens of missesāsongs that feel like they were picked by someone who skimmed my playlist titles but never actually listened. Shows that check off superficial genre boxes but miss the emotional mark completely.
Itās like having a robot speed-date for you and then wondering why youāre dating someone youād never even talk in real life. (Remember real life? It still exists!)
AUTOPLAY IS NOT CURATINGāITāS CORRALLING
What autoplay really does is flatten the experience. It dulls the edges of taste and curiosity. Instead of asking, āWhat do I want to listen to right now?ā I am left being swept along in an endless loop of "more of the same."
But discovery doesnāt live in samenessāit lives in surprises, contradictions, and sometimes even discomforts.
Autoplay doesnāt challenge me. It doesnāt ask me questions. It doesnāt know that I want to listen to punk rock one minute and watch a romcom the next.
Autoplay assumes our tastes are linear. But the truth is what we like changes all the time. Our tastes are messy and moody. And thatās what makes us human.
THE JOY OF HUMAN CURATION
You know what I trust more than algorithms? People. The friend who sends me a song and says, āThis reminded me of you.ā The playlist a coworker made for a long drive. The social media post from someone I follow who raves about a show that āwrecked them in the best way.ā
Even when I donāt end up liking the recommendation, I respect it. Because it came with context, care, and intent. Human curation adds soul to the stream.
Algorithms try to guess my vibe. Humans understand my heart.
MAKING ROOM FOR INTENTIONAL CHOICES
Breaking up with autoplay doesnāt mean Iām ditching streaming services. But it does mean Iām reclaiming the driverās seat. Going forward, Iāll be taking the time to search, to explore, to choose.
Iām building my own music playlists againāsongs that span decades and moods, not just genres. Iām curating my watchlists too, adding shows and videos I genuinely want to watch, not just whatās trending.
FINAL THOUGHTS
We live in a world where everything is fighting for our attention.
Autoplay pretends to be helpful, but often itās just noise in disguise. Thereās nothing wrong with letting yourself be surprised or inspired by something newābut let you be the one who chooses what that is.
So next time you hear that familiar next-track transition, ask yourself:
Did I choose this? Or did autoplay choose it for me?
Because lifeās too damn short to waste on background noise.
Keep calm and carry on!
Clint šāļø
HOW TO DISABLE AUTOPLAY
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PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY
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āIt isn't what they say about you, it's what they whisper.ā
Errol Flynn
What a wonderful suggestion. Take back the control of your remote control is indeed one step nearer to controlling mindfully and in awareness your life.
My music taste is so wildly unpredictable that autoplay threw up its digital hands, crashed itself in despair, and now just loops manifestation music to cope.