Have you noticed that your Facebook newsfeed is only showing posts from a select few of your friends and contacts?

People you’ve been interacting with for ages, have seemingly disappeared. You might even have forgotten them yourself for a while but when they popped back into your head, what did you do? I know that when this happened to me recently, I went to their profile to check they were still on my friends list. And of course they were.

So what’s going on?

Why can’t you see all your friends posts anymore?

The answer is in the Facebook newsfeed algorithm. If you’re not familiar with an algorithm, here’s what the dictionary defines it as:

“a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer” 

None the wiser? You’re not alone.

Essentially an algorithm is a program that runs in the background of a digital platform. Google uses algorithms. Every other search engine uses algorithms too.

And of course Facebook newsfeed has its own algorithm that is used to determine what to show in your news feed. As a user, you’d like to think that you’d see everything from all of your friends but Facebook has a series of rules running in the background that are constantly revising which content to show you based on how you use their platform.

Simply put, if you engage (like, share or comment) on a particular person’s posts, Facebook will show you more posts from them. Facebook’s algorithm is adapting constantly to show you content that is relevant to you. The action you take in your Facebook feed is ‘teaching’ the algorithm what you want to see. And unless you start changing your actions, you will keep seeing the same narrow content from your ‘favorite’ friends.

Scary huh?

But what’s even more scary is that this is exactly how your brain is working too.

Your brain is essentially one great big algorithm that will show you exactly what you tell it you want to see. Unfortunately, unless you tell your brain to show you something different from what you’re already seeing, its job is to keep showing you the same (or similar) things over and over again. It essentially a core program that is running on repeat.

It’s a bit like buying a brand new smartphone. The functions that are necessary to run the machine are already installed but to make it do everything you want it to do, you need to install specific apps. In the same way, you are born with the functions that are necessary for life but during the first seven years of your life, apps are being installed. These informational apps are adapting to your environment and programming your brain and body with the messages they receive from your primary caregivers, society, school and your interactions with others. These messages become the foundation for your life. They dictate how you view yourself, how you view the people around you, how you see the world and what you intrinsically believe about how things work.

These messages determine what you see and drive your thoughts and emotions.

So if you’re not happy with how your life looks then some of the core programming that’s running in the background needs to be updated. Unfortunately, this is where those information apps can let you down. They are updatable but it’s not an automatic process. You must choose the updates you want and install them manually.

With me so far?

Okay. Now to the point of this article.

You can use the Facebook newsfeed algorithm to improve your life …

We’ve learned that the Facebook algorithm is learning what you want to see and delivering it to you.

We’ve learned that your brain is doing exactly the same thing.

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change” ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer

This quote tells us that when we look at things differently, the things we look at change.

But it works in reverse too.

“If you change the things you look at, the things you see will change ” ~ Allanah Hunt

And this is exactly how you can use Facebook’s algorithm to improve your life.

Go out and look for the things you want to see more of. Use the search function to find content that’s inspirational, that will support you on your journey, that will bring more joy, more happiness, more abundance, more gratitude … more of the good stuff into your life.

And then let Facebook know that’s what you want to see. Like, love, share, comment … engage with what you want to see more of. And Facebook will obey. Facebook will deliver you exactly what you ask for. That’s the algorithm’s job.

But here’s the best bit …

As you surround yourself with more of what you want to see, you’re also training your brain to see more of it wherever you go. Suddenly, everywhere you look there will be examples of what you want to see. You will see it in your Facebook newsfeed but you will also see it in the world around you. You will literally reprogram your brain to seek out things, people and experiences that support what you’ve said you want to see.

Try it out for yourself. Choose a post you wouldn’t usually be interested in and leave a comment. Refresh your profile and take a look at what is top of your feed. You will probably see more articles or adverts that are related to the post you just commented on. You just told Facebook that this is what you’re interested in right now.

And the response? Your wish is my command …

You see, you are in complete control of what shows up in your newsfeed but you are also in complete control of what you want to see in your life. You decide. You tell your brain what you want to experience.

And the result?

Your wish is my command!