Perhaps you have seen one video and, unexpectedly, realized that the feed is full of similar videos. This is due to the work of the recommendation algorithms that try to guess what you might be interested in.
They use different signals of your actions. For instance, they take into account which videos you are watching, what you like, what you search for, and which posts consume more of your time.
For instance, suppose you watched several videos on the topic of space. The algorithm might assume that you are interested in astronomy and recommend videos on planets, rockets, and black holes.
Yet, it does not analyze one signal only. The algorithm can analyze a lot of different signals to calculate your interests.
Moreover, each platform uses different approaches, and their systems are not always disclosed. Some of them analyze signals about how popular the post is, how fresh it is, and interests of users who are similar to you in views.
The aim is to find relevant content.
Recommendation algorithms do not always stick to the same category of posts. They can adjust their prediction every time you change your behavior on the platform.
For instance, if you start watching food-related videos after spending several weeks watching gaming content, your recommendations will eventually start containing recipes.
Moreover, some platforms use unknown content to find out if there is anything new that you could like. In other words, your feed is not always a perfect mirror of your interests.
This helps to make your experience more comfortable, as you do not need to look for interesting content manually. At the same time, it can result in repetitive recommendations about some opinion, trend, or topic, which can limit your discoveries.
Therefore, your feed becomes the combination of your choices and predictions of the algorithm about you.
It is worth noting one key feature of a recommendation it does not mean that it is the best or the most appropriate piece of content. It is just a prediction of something that you can interact with.
In some cases, the next video in your feed is recommended to you only because the algorithm predicts that you will watch it.
