Digital media is no longer just a window through which we look at the world; it has become an invisible force that reshapes this world in front of us. What’s most dangerous about this force is not what it displays, but what it hides. We do not see the internet as it is, but as the algorithms decide we should see it.
On platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, nothing is displayed randomly. Every video, post, and piece of news goes through precise systems that monitor our behavior: what we watch, what we ignore, and what we repeat. The apparent goal is to “improve the experience,” but the result is deeper: in building a personal digital reality, closed off and separated from the general reality.
Over time, a user begins to live within a cosy circle of similar content, until they believe that this is all there is to the world. Here lies the danger of the 'invisible': what is omitted does not get noticed, yet it is what defines the limits of what we see and think about.
The philosopher "Michel Foucault" pointed out that power operates not only through prohibition but through controlling what can be said and seen. In the digital world, this power is no longer directly human, but algorithmic: invisible, yet effective in defining the boundaries of perception.
The problem does not stop at knowledge but extends to freedom itself. The user believes they are choosing freely, while in reality, they are moving within a space that has been pre-designed. The algorithm does not force them, but it chooses for them what can be seen.
With the repetition of this pattern, a dangerous illusion forms: that what appears on the screen is an accurate representation of the world. But in reality, what we see is a filtered version, continually reproducing itself based on the logic of interaction and attention.
Here, the picture approaches what "Jean Baudrillard" discussed about 'simulation,' where representation becomes more present than reality itself, nearly erasing the difference between them. The digital world does not just reflect reality but reproduces it in a way that makes it seem more convincing than the original.
It's even more dangerous that this does not only cover what we see, but also what we do not see. Entire issues may disappear from the public sphere because they don't achieve the required interaction. Thus, the priorities of society are reshaped not based on importance, but on the potential for spread.
We are thus facing a profound transformation: from media that transmits reality to media that manufactures it. From an audience that chooses, to an audience for whom choices are made about what they see.
And in the end, the most important question remains: Are we living inside reality… or inside a version of it designed by the algorithms?
