BOOK CLUB: Filterworld by Kyle Chayka
I just finished reading the book Filterworld by Kyle Chayka. I first heard about it last year on a lengthy Verge interview he did about how culture around the world is flattening and all becoming the same no matter where you go or where you’re from.
I’ve been intrigued by this idea for several years now as I’ve noticed every city slowly becoming the same, with the same types of stores, the same kind of dress, and the same Instagrammable aesthetic. It’s obviously a generalization of sorts but I know I’ve felt a little of this here and there with how every social media platform (which is a huge part of any piece of the internet these days) is algorithmically serving content. With globalization and the interconnectedness of supply chains, that algorithm is what makes somebody halfway around the world buy the same thing I might buy in my own city. And in the same way, how those same tastes change so much more quickly once it has saturated its intended market or demographic.
There are a lot of examples in the book of flattening culture but in the end, a bright light is shone on true curators of art and culture which I found really satisfying. It’s not all lost if we can filter out the noise of the algorithm’s feed.
Pick up the book here or visit your local library for a copy.