The End of Curation: Is The Algorithm Making Us All Taste The Same?

Remember when finding something cool online felt like a small personal victory? Having searched for that obscure track, building the perfect Tumblr feed, or stumbling across a blog that felt like it was made just for us.

Now, it’s “TikTok made me buy it.”
“Spotify put it on my Discover Weekly.”
“It just popped up on YouTube.”

We’re not just consuming content. We’re consuming the same content — on repeat.

So the question is: when everything is recommended, is anything still discovered?

Welcome To The Feed

Let’s be real — we don’t “discover” content anymore. We scroll, we swipe, and let the feed do its thing.

You want facts? We’ve got Southeast Asian countries’ social media screen time stats that hurt: 

Yes, we do spend all that time on social media

Before The Algorithm Took Over

We didn’t scroll — we searched.
We hunted for MP3s, built folders like mixtapes, and shared songs over Bluetooth like secrets.

We followed blogs that spoke our language. Saved links like treasure. Our taste wasn’t fed to us — we fed it.

Now? The feed knows us better than we know ourselves. TikTok knows what we’ll like before we do. Spotify serves up weekly mixes we never asked for — and yet we somehow love them. YouTube queues up the next video before the first one's even finished.

It’s smooth, it’s fast… but it’s no longer ours.

Personal Taste vs Popular Taste 

Once, our tastes said something about us. The music we played, the clothes we wore, the content we shared — it all felt intentional. A reflection of who we were, or who we wanted to be.

Now? It’s harder to tell.
Do we really love that song — or has it just followed us through 20 Instagram Reels and 3 TikToks? Is that aesthetic our vibe — or has it just been everywhere for months?

The line between what we choose and what we’re shown is getting harder to see — and most of us feel it.

We’re not always watching what we want. We’re watching what’s queued up for us. It’s not about understanding our taste anymore. It’s about holding our gaze — for as long as possible.

When Virality Becomes The Vibe 

We like to think our taste is personal — but in a feed-driven world, what we love is often just what we’re shown.

Trends that once lived in niche corners — thrifted fits, underground tracks, local brands — now go global in hours. One viral TikTok, and suddenly it’s on our FYP, in DMs, and in every group chat.

Need an example? Try escaping the “Clean Girl” aesthetic. You can’t. Hailey Bieber blinked and suddenly we’re all slicked back, glazed, and clutching Rhode lip balm like it’s a life choice. No one asked — but somehow, everyone’s in.

It’s pretty convincing, isn’t it? Yeah, we think so too

The bottom line? Somewhere along the scroll, we stopped choosing and started copying. Not because we lack taste — but because sameness gets served.

Originality isn’t dead. It’s just buried under the algorithm.

So do better. Scroll slower. Curate louder. Your taste deserves more than just what the feed decides.

At DOX Digital, we don’t just follow trends — we shape them.

We believe your brand deserves more than just algorithm appeal. From scroll-stopping visuals to strategy-led storytelling, we create content that cuts through the noise — without losing what makes you, you.

Let’s bring your voice back to the feed.