S3 С1-С2 BE YOUR OWN ALGORITHM: MEDIA DIETS & PERSONAL CURRICULUMS

to ebb and flow with the tides of trends

to keep changing with trends

relentless self-optimization

constant and aggressive effort to improve yourself

in constant flux

always changing and never stable

a plethora of content

a very large and almost excessive amount of content

to enact a performance of smartness

to try to appear intelligent

embedded in daily life

firmly fixed and regularly present in everyday routines

to disseminate the pressure to conform

to spread the feeling that everyone must fit the norm

low-brow content

simple content with little intellectual or artistic ambition

to emulate sth

to copy sth in order to be like it

virtue

a good moral quality or admirable character trait

through the mouthpiece of social media

expressed and spread using social media as the main channel

to vamp with a book

to pose with a book in a confident and showy way

long-form content

content that requires some time to consume and digest

to showcase curated intellectual tastes

to display carefully chosen “smart” interests

to strike unease in sth

to create a feeling of discomfort or worry in sb

diatribe against the women

a strong, angry speech or text that attacks women

enthralled by sth

completely fascinated and held by sth

hijacked by capitalism

taken over, co-opted and used by capitalism

purchasable aesthetic

a style or “look” that can be bought through products

to adopt an identity

to choose and start living with a certain image of yourself

painstakingly curated

selected with great care and effort

to remain subservient

to stay in a lower, controlled position

to self-police

to strictly control your own behavior to fit certain rules

feelings of inadequacy

feelings that you are not good enough

to dissuade sb from picking up a book

to make sb less likely to start reading

overrun by algorithms

controlled or filled too much by algorithms

acceleration of sth

a process of sth happening faster and faster

clogged with content

oversaturated with content

avalanche / onslaught of online content

huge amount of content

coherent

logical and easy to follow as a whole

purveyor of sth

sb who supplies or offers specific goods or services

to scour through the internet

to search the internet very carefully

a fixture of one’s feed

sth that appears regularly on one’s online feed

frenetic “for you” feed

very fast and chaotic FYP

to savor culture

to enjoy cultural things slowly and with attention

to run a newsletter

to send out a regular email publication

to tout sth

to praise or promote sth strongly in public

to champion lesser-known brands

to actively support smaller brands

to interrogate the act of shopping

to question consumption

parasocial act

an action that creates a one-sided feeling of friendship with a public figure

to inject more of one’s image into sth

to add more personality to sth

to earn revenue from affiliate marketing

to make money when people buy products through your special links

to connote shallowness

to imply that sth is simple and lacks depth

uninformed content

content made without enough research

archetypal influencer

a classic example of a typical influencer

to piggyback on social media’s intimate interaction with followers

to use social media’s close contact with followers for your own benefit

filtered through the eyes of sb

shaped by one person’s view

to amass 80k followers

to slowly collect and reach 80,000 followers

to dwindle

to become smaller, weaker, or fewer over time

to cast sth as sth

to present sth in a particular role or light

connoisseur

sb with a lot of expertise in a special area

algorithm-induced homogeneity

sameness caused by algorithms

to automate vast swathes of human activity

to use machines or software to do many different human tasks instead of people

to churn out capital-C content

to produce a huge amount of polished and highly planned content just for the sake of creating more content

to break out of the online echo chamber

to escape spaces where you only hear opinions like your own

to get a handle on one’s likes

to understand your preferences better

moneyed upper classes

rich people in the highest social groups

since time immemorial

for a very long time in the past

high brow culture

culture seen as serious, intellectual, or elite

inherently superior to sth

naturally better than sth

to face backlash

a strong negative reaction against sth

fusty, classist preconceptions

old-fashioned, elitist assumptions

fried attention span

damaged or depleted ability to focus

pulpy beach read

a light, simple book often read for fun on holiday

to slog through a book

to read a book with great effort and difficulty

to lean on others’ opinions

to depend on what other people think

to tune into the discourse

to start following the public discussion

redundant

no longer needed or useful

to lend sth an interesting edge

to give sth a special or alluring quality

to keep abreast of contemporary fiction

to keep up with new novels

to parrot sth

to repeat sth without adding your own thinking

to inform one’s taste

to shape and guide what one likes

to shill sth

to to sell sth in a pushy or disingenuous way

proliferation of fleeting microtrends

fast spread of short-lived trends

cult director

a director loved by a small but very passionate group

to gush about sth

to praise sth with a lot of excitement

to hone one’s taste

to improve the sense of what one likes

to feel mentally sharp

to feel focused, quick, and clear in your thinking

to indulge one’s curiosity

to give yourself permission to explore your interests

to go down a rabbit hole of …

to get deeply lost exploring one topic

to obliterate sth

to completely destroy or remove sth

to languish on the couch

to lie on the couch feeling low or without energy

insatiably curious

always wanting to know more, never fully satisfied

surface level skimming

quick reading or watching without deep focus

in a nebulous way

in a way that is unclear or not well defined

to allow skills to fester and fall into disuse

to let skills slowly weaken and stop being used

to seek out sth in media

to actively look for sth in books, videos, or online content

snippet of an idea

a small piece or part of an idea

wedged in the brain

stuck in your mind or memory

a flash in the pan

notable event that happens only once and is never repeated

obligatory

done because it is expected, not because you truly want it

lost in the mire of ideas

stuck and confused because there are too many ideas

to get stuck in the weeds

to focus on small details and lose the main point

to narrow down the scope

to make the topic smaller and more specific

granular

very detailed and specific

to peruse a list / forum

to read a list or forum carefully and slowly

to facilitate one’s learning

to make it easier for sb to learn

to get into the nitty gritty

to look closely at the small and practical details

to do ideation

to generate ideas

entranced by sth

so interested that you cannot look away