The Feed as a Digital Universe

The infinite scroll is more than a design feature—it’s a worldview. By removing the natural endpoint of content, it creates a sense of boundlessness that mirrors the philosophical concept of the infinite. Users drift through endless images, updates, and videos without closure, dissolving the distinction between consumption and experience. The feed becomes a temporal void, a loop without beginning or end.

Attention as the New Ontology

In the metaphysics of the feed, what exists is what is seen. Visibility equals existence. Posts vanish into digital oblivion when engagement fades, echoing a modern ontological truth: being is contingent on attention. The more we scroll, the more we affirm that reality itself is algorithmically determined by what trends.

The Disappearance of Stillness

Before the feed, moments had permanence—books ended, letters concluded. Now, meaning is endlessly deferred. Infinite scroll creates an illusion of continuity but erases completion, turning our perception of reality into a perpetual refresh. The world no longer unfolds—it reloads.
 

The Logic of the Invisible Hand (of the Algorithm)

Traditional metaphysics sought to understand unseen forces shaping reality—God, fate, nature. Today, that unseen force is the algorithm. Invisible yet omnipresent, it curates what we see, believe, and desire. Each interaction feeds back into the system, refining its predictive precision until it becomes a mirror that not only reflects us but subtly redefines us.

Personalized Reality and the Fragmented World

Algorithmic personalization fractures collective experience. No two users share the same feed, meaning no two people share the same digital world. This individualized reality breeds epistemic isolation, where truth becomes subjective and consensus dissolves into customized narratives.

Data as Divine Revelation

In the metaphysics of the feed, data replaces divine insight. Analytics and metrics become sacred texts—quantifying emotion, influence, and worth. Likes, shares, and views function as modern forms of validation, affirming that we exist through measurable engagement rather than intrinsic meaning.
 

The Collapse of Linear Time

Social media feeds dissolve the chronological order of events. Past posts resurface through “memories,” while trending content prioritizes virality over recency. This disorients our sense of temporal flow, trapping users in an eternal present where everything feels simultaneous and nothing ever truly ends.

The Memory Machine

Platforms like Facebook and Instagram turn memory into content, curating nostalgia algorithmically. Our past is no longer private—it’s monetized, aestheticized, and replayed. This transforms memory from a personal archive into a performative loop designed for public validation.

The Eternal Now and the Loss of Depth

Infinite scroll feeds us a perpetual now—updates, alerts, and trends that erase the possibility of reflection. In this timeless state, depth is sacrificed for immediacy. The metaphysical weight of memory and anticipation gives way to the shallow gravity of constant notification.
 

The Aesthetics of the Feed: From Beauty to Virality
 

The Algorithmic Eye

What we consider “beautiful” is increasingly determined by algorithmic visibility. The feed prioritizes high-contrast colors, familiar faces, and predictable patterns—creating a feedback loop where aesthetics evolve to please algorithms rather than human sensibility. Art becomes optimization.

The Spectacle of Self

In the metaphysics of the feed, the self becomes a curated performance. Every image, caption, and story is crafted to align with invisible algorithmic expectations. We become both creators and commodities—designing our digital selves for maximum engagement.

Virality as Value

The ultimate aesthetic achievement is not beauty but virality. The viral replaces the vital. Emotional resonance is optimized for shareability rather than sincerity, turning art, activism, and authenticity into algorithmic artifacts.
 

Ontological Anxiety: Being in the Feed
 

Existence as Engagement

In the attention economy, not being seen feels like not existing. Users experience ontological anxiety when posts go unnoticed, revealing a deeper truth: social media has tied identity to metrics. The self is no longer stable—it fluctuates with engagement data.

The Fragmented Self

Our digital personas are plural and performative. We maintain multiple identities across platforms—LinkedIn professional, Instagram aesthete, TikTok comedian—all algorithmically tuned. This fragmentation challenges the metaphysical unity of the self, replacing it with a network of digital selves optimized for attention.

Digital Solipsism

Each feed is a solipsistic world. Users inhabit private realities where their preferences are mirrored back endlessly. This isolation erodes empathy and reinforces bias, trapping us within algorithmic echo chambers that masquerade as personalized truth.
 

The Politics of the Feed: Power, Truth, and Control
 

The Algorithmic Sovereign

Feeds operate as political systems governed by opaque algorithms. They decide which voices are amplified and which are buried, shaping public discourse with invisible authority. This creates algorithmic hierarchies where truth competes with engagement, and virality determines visibility.

Truth in the Age of the Feed

Disinformation thrives because truth is no longer rewarded for accuracy but for attention. The metaphysics of the feed privileges emotional intensity over empirical evidence. Outrage becomes more algorithmically valuable than insight.

Resisting Algorithmic Power

Digital literacy becomes a form of metaphysical rebellion. Understanding how feeds manipulate perception allows users to reclaim agency—to scroll consciously, curate intentionally, and resist being passively shaped by invisible logic.