What if... my social media feed surprised me and broadened my views instead of entrenching them

I do not do Facebook or Instagram and only occasionally check in on Twitter, only to be overwhelmed in equal measure by a shower of fascinating tidbits and inane blabber. But I must admit to one digital addiction. Walking the dog under a drizzle at the end of a long day or folding laundry in between a work call and the school pick up, I tune into YouTube to get the latest on the surreal soap that is the current US political newsfeed.  

While I take full responsibility for my choice of tuning out other thoughts with the cacophony of US commentators decrying Trump’s latest infringement of decency and democracy, I wish that YouTube was designed to elevate my spirit instead of indulging and reinforcing my consciously limited search patterns.  

While digital products have the potential to bring the whole wide world to our fingertips, taking our breath away with beauty and the unexpected, moving us against injustice and inspiring us to be the best we can be, the mainstream giants are entrenching our views feeding on our behaviour patterns.

I'd love to see the media industry get creative about ways to use platforms to actively broaden users' perspectives and lift the quality of their interactions with each other.

So, dear You Tube, how about adding a  'Discover' Tab to your menu, where, after choosing a few categories that tickle my fancy, I would be treated to a playlist chosen explicitly to surprise me with content that would otherwise not have landed on my feed?

Or how about introducing a ‘The other side of the argument’ function, which would automatically add to my playlist videos exploring different sides of the argument on issues I care about?

Dear Facebook and Twitter, why not create user dashboards offering visibility into browsing and posting behaviours and kindly nudging abusive posters towards stress relief and self care?
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What if the KPIs of social media platforms were not only measured in views, impressions and click-throughs but also in the diversity of content accessed and the quality and civility of engagement?

And how about a 'user stupidification tax' on platforms with sub-par performance on these metrics?

As digital becomes the norm, this is the time to seize to make sure that we humans benefit from the opportunities digital offers to grow our own knowledge and connections and nurture our (online and offline!) communities instead of being farmed into data-producers and passive content consumers.