The Cure Redeemed My Social Media Timeline

When they log in to Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, etc., most folks would probably prefer to see a simple chronological listing of their friends’ most recent posts. Instead, our social media feeds are largely controlled and generated by algorithms.

These complex and secretive rules determine what we see based on our friends, yes, but also on a host of other factors, including: demographics and location; social media interactions and engagement; topics of interest; our friends’ social media activity; advertisers; and activity across the broader platform (i.e., viral content).

For all of the technical expertise and boatloads of money they represent, though, algorithms are far from perfect. Anyone who’s ever logged into Facebook et al. has almost certainly asked Why am I seeing that? and Why was that recommended to me? on more than one occasion. And never mind the danger of algorithms creating echo chambers and promulgating misinformation.

But there are those rare occasions when the algorithms get it right, and it feels like social media is functioning the way everyone would prefer it to function.

Earlier this month, The Cure released the long-awaited Songs of a Lost World. In the days following the album’s release, my Threads timeline has been largely dominated by posts about Robert Smith and the boys. People are talking about the new album, as expected, but they’re also sharing favorite songs, beloved Cure-related memories, and musical recommendations.

A few flashes of snobbery aside, it’s been an incredibly positive and refreshing experience that reminds me of the various music-related email lists that I subscribed to in the mid-to-late ’90s. Through the various discussions on those lists, I met some cool people and discovered a slew of new music that would prove deeply influential and important, even to this day. Hopefully, many Cure fans are having a similar experience via Threads.

What’s more, this should be a reminder to us all that algorithms amplify what we put out there. Yes, algorithms can be shady and secretive, and God only knows how they’re manipulated behind the scenes. Still, it’s incumbent on us to intentionally craft the sort of social media experience that we want through our activities, through the content we share, promote, and like as well as judicious blocking and muting.