Social media algorithms have been under a lot of scrutiny recently, with much of the conversation focused on how they may be influencing our mental health. Sometimes it can feel as though these systems have taken on a life of their own, influencing what we see and how we think.
This blog explains what a social media algorithm actually is and how it can affect your mental health, giving you more insight into the platforms we use every day. Most importantly, we’ll share actionable tips on how you can regain some control over what you see online.
Rather than asking you to quit social media altogether, the focus here is on practical ways to shape your feed so it works for you, not against you.
What Is a Social Media Algorithm?
A social media algorithm is an AI system that decides what content appears in your “feed” and in what order.1 It learns by tracking what you engage with or disregard, then uses that information to shape what you see on the platform.
What’s impressive is how quickly this process can begin, with only a small number of interactions being enough for the system to start adjusting content in real time.2 Video-based platforms make this especially clear, where responses can be tested and recalibrated within seconds.3 The result is a feed that feels highly personalized, even when you’ve shared very little about yourself.
From a technical perspective, the system is doing exactly what it was designed to do, but what does that mean for the person on the other side of the screen?
How Social Media Algorithms Affect Mental Health
While social media algorithms are impressive from a technical point of view, they can have a real impact on mental health. Before getting into how that happens, it’s worth clearing something up. The people who build these systems are not setting out to harm you, and the platforms using them are not deliberately trying to damage your well-being.
Algorithms exist to keep you engaged, but they cannot understand context or how you actually feel about a piece of content.
Suppose you came across a video with adult themes, such as violence or explicit material. You might watch it out of curiosity or shock, but that doesn’t mean you want to see more of it. To the algorithm, that distinction doesn’t exist. All it registers is that you watched, and it responds by offering you similar content. This is where the problems begin.
A recent peer-reviewed study found that algorithm-driven feeds specifically are linked to higher levels of anxiety in adults aged 18 to 35.4 When the algorithm pushes certain content repeatedly, it creates an “echo chamber,” where the same types of posts appear repeatedly with few alternative perspectives. This can keep stress levels high and contribute to mental health conditions.5
Research on digital well-being also shows that endless content loops lead to mental fatigue and emotional exhaustion, known as digital burnout.6 These issues usually get worse if you are unable to break free from algorithmic echo chambers.
Controlling Social Media Algorithms’ Impact on Your Mental Health
Now that we’ve established how social media algorithms can impact your mental health, the next step is understanding how to control them. It’s easy to forget that this type of AI technology learns from your actions, so if you don’t want to see certain things on your feed, you only have to tell it. These next ten tips explore actionable ways to teach your own algorithm what you like and what you don’t.
1. Educate Yourself About Algorithms
New technology can be difficult to get your head around, and algorithms can seem very complex at first. Despite this, understanding digital well-being and algorithms is the first step to protecting yourself from potential harm. Many blogs and free YouTube videos can help you get up to speed by learning the basics of how social media algorithms work. Several platforms have also started publishing information about how their own recommendation algorithms work.
Research on digital well-being shows that being able to recognize things like persuasive design and sponsored content supports better self-regulation online.6
Once you understand that your feed is engineered, it gives you space to question why a post appears and whether it deserves your attention.
2. Diversify Your Feed
Let’s say you enjoy watching content about cake. One day, you decide to take a break from eating cake and watching cake-related videos, but your algorithm is still showing you cake videos. This makes it difficult to stay away from cake, but your algorithm doesn’t know that, so now it’s your job to break free from algorithmic echo chambers.
Analysis from experts shows that engagement signals quickly concentrate feeds around familiar material.7 In theory, this means that regularly following new accounts with different topics can reduce the risk of being pulled into repetitive content loops.
3. Curate Your Follows Thoughtfully
Following directly on from the last tip, try to be selective with who and what topics you follow. Research from Harvard exploring how algorithms influence emotions and behavior suggests that content quality has a stronger link to well-being than total screen time.8 This means that following accounts that support connection and unfollowing those that drive comparison helps protect your emotional state.
4. Teach the Algorithm What You Dislike
Another way to control social media algorithms is by using the tools that are already built into platform apps. For example, YouTube has an option for you to choose “Not Interested” on a video that may be shown to you. Guidance from the University of Michigan shows that these options do actually work, reducing exposure to similar material.9
5. Limit Push Notifications
Have you ever been minding your own business when a new notification pops up that your favorite content creator has posted new material? Push notifications are designed to interrupt your focus and pull you back into whatever platform you use the most. Harvard guidelines suggest disabling non-essential notifications to protect yourself from algorithm-driven social media stress. Fewer notifications means fewer external prompts telling you when to engage.10
6. Check Your Privacy and Ad Settings
Algorithms rely on the data you give them, including likes, comments, browsing behavior, and even geolocations, to personalize content and ads. The simple fix here is to adjust privacy settings to limit data sharing and opt out of personalized advertising. Once you do this, you can influence how recommendation algorithms work in response to your data.6 This is one of the most direct forms of user control available.
Each platform handles this differently, but most have a “Privacy” or “Ad Preferences” section in their settings menu. You can also search “How to adjust privacy settings in…” and follow the instructions given online.
7. Disable the Autoplay Feature
Autoplay can be great for finding new content, but it also takes away a lot of autonomy. The feature removes the moment where you choose whether or not to continue engaging with content. Disabling these features gives you the chance to stop when you want and slows down the way engagement-based algorithms respond to your behavior.
8. Use Built-In Mental Health Controls
Certain platforms understand how social media algorithms affect mental health and have developed compassionate search features.10 These provide crisis hotline information and supportive exercises when users search for self-harm, suicide, depression, and eating disorder-related content.
While this is not a direct strategy for controlling your feed, it highlights that what you search for influences how the platform’s algorithm responds. Being aware of these features can also help if you’re supporting someone else who may be struggling.
9. Block Keywords Related to Unwanted Topics
You can reduce exposure to unwanted topics by blocking keywords on social media platforms. For example, if a recent public event was making you feel uneasy, you can block words related to that topic. Experts recommend using these tools to manage algorithm-driven content overload, as it teaches the system what content you don’t want reflected back to you.11
10. Reset Your Recommendations
If your feed becomes overwhelming with content you don’t want to see, resetting your recommendations can help. Research highlights how refresh options clear stored personalization signals, giving you a chance to reshape your feed on your own terms.12 Most major platforms now offer this option, so look for “Clear Watch History” or “Reset Recommendations” in your account settings.
Mission Connection offers flexible outpatient care for adults needing more than weekly therapy. Our in-person and telehealth programs include individual, group, and experiential therapy, along with psychiatric care and medication management.
We treat anxiety, depression, trauma, and bipolar disorder using evidence-based approaches like CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and trauma-focused therapies. Designed to fit into daily life, our services provide consistent support without requiring residential care.
Mission Connection: Expert Providers of Mental Health Support
We hope these tips on how to control social media algorithms can help you regain control over what you see online. But if you feel as though social media has had such an impact that it’s consistently interfering with your own mental health, it may be time to take a step back and reassess your relationship with it.
At Mission Connection, we work with adults who feel overwhelmed or mentally drained by modern digital environments. We understand how mental health and social media feeds can interact with existing challenges and even contribute to creating new ones.
We specialize in treating and supporting a wide range of mental health conditions, including:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Trauma
- Personality disorders
- Psychosis
We also understand that when it comes to mental health treatment, the setting matters greatly. This is why we offer both residential and outpatient treatment spaces to ensure that different levels of care are available for different needs.
If you or someone you care about has been struggling with their mental health, our team is here to talk through your options and help you work out what comes next.
References
- Mozilla Foundation. (2020). How artificial intelligence fuels online disinformation: Ranking and recommendation systems. https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/campaigns/trained-for-deception-how-artificial-intelligence-fuels-online-disinformation/ranking-and-recommendation-systems/
- Milli, S., Carroll, M., Wang, Y., Pandey, S., Zhao, S., & Dragan, A. D. (2025). Engagement, user satisfaction, and the amplification of divisive content on social media. PNAS Nexus, 4(3). https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf062
- Ye, J. (2024, April 26). Explainer: What is so special about TikTok’s technology. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/technology/what-is-so-special-about-tiktoks-technology-2024-04-26/
- Li, J., & Wu, J. (2025). Understanding young adults’ social media anxiety: Mediating role of upward social comparison and the moderating role of psychological resilience. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2025.071306
- Chang, J. P.-C., Cheng, S.-W., Chang, S. M.-J., & Su, K.-P. (2025). Navigating the digital maze: A review of AI bias, social media, and mental health in Generation Z. AI, 6(6), 118. https://doi.org/10.3390/ai6060118
- Balaskas, S., Konstantakopoulou, M., Yfantidou, I., & Komis, K. (2025). Algorithmic burnout and digital well-being: Modelling young adults’ resistance to personalized digital persuasion. Societies, 15(8), 232. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc15080232
- Narayanan, A. (2023, March 9). Understanding social media recommendation algorithms. Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. https://knightcolumbia.org/content/understanding-social-media-recommendation-algorithms
- Brownstein, M. (2025, September 24). How to use social media healthfully. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/how-to-use-social-media-healthfully/
- Mostafavi, B. (2022, November 17). Social media: Top setting tips to promote positive boundaries, mental health for young people. Michigan Medicine. https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/social-media-top-setting-tips-promote-positive-boundaries-mental-health-young-people
- Qiu, T. (2021, September 14). A psychiatrist’s perspective on social media algorithms and mental health. Stanford HAI. https://hai.stanford.edu/news/psychiatrists-perspective-social-media-algorithms-and-mental-health
- Mental Health America. (2025). Breaking the algorithm: Redesigning social media for youth well-being. https://mhanational.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Breaking-the-Algorithm-report.pdf
- Haime, Z., & Biddle, L. (2024). Exploring mental health content moderation and wellbeing tools on social media platforms: A walkthrough analysis. JMIR Human Factors. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.2196/69817
