Who’s gonna tell him? Democrat Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed apparently has OnlyFans models appearing every few scrolls in his For You tab on Instagram — according to his interview with The Lever. While pacing his home gym, El-Sayed unloaded on social media algorithms for pushing this content on him, perhaps because it “clocked him as a 40-something-year-old man.” In the weeks following the implosion of wannabe home-invader rapist turned Democrat Senate candidate Graham Platner, the Democrats might want to move slowly on bending the knee for El-Sayed. Republican opposition research bloodhounds just picked up on a familiar pervy scent.
The recent release of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is somewhat fitting. The so-called “thirst trap” side of the algorithmic online world is much like sailing past the island of the Sirens. You’re scrolling out of boredom and see extra skin, slow down, and in that split second, you have to make a decision whether or not to investigate or flee. We have words for this that are simply out of fashion: lust and temptation. This is widely understood by all of mankind to be a struggle, particularly for men.
El-Sayed is, to his credit, onto something in this viral clip where he expresses concern about pornographic content being fed to young people online. His main claim is that a 14-year-old has an ill-formed limbic system to regulate feelings, mood, and behavior, and they will more easily fall down the soft-porn rabbit hole of influencer content on Instagram. He’s not wrong. The smut is teased on Instagram, then routed out through Linktree and straight to subscription-based porn platforms like OnlyFans.
If you don’t turn away, plug your ears, or figuratively restrain yourself, you’re headed for the sharp rocky coast — the oblivion of porn addiction. The problem with Democrats like El-Sayed is that he can’t bring himself to condemn pornographic content without tacking on, “Should be legal, and I don’t mean to shame anyone…”
Maybe he should suggest shame, or instruct his many followers to live more virtuously. If there’s nothing to be ashamed of, then what’s the problem with the lustful content?
The finger must always be pointed toward an outside nefarious force. In this case, he demonizes the people of Meta who run Instagram and develop parental moderation and teen-safety tools, not the liberal culture that promotes sexual liberation or the individual who seeks out explicit content. It’s not politically popular to tell people they are in control and not the victim of a conspiracy — just ask financial commentator Caleb Hammer, whose show produces hugely viral clips of young people blaming everything but themselves for financial shipwreck.
That’s the funny thing about the Sirens and the overall analogy provided by Greek myth. The way we talk about “the algorithm” is often like how people in these stories refer to the wrath of the gods. It’s a way of understanding the world in which things happen to you rather than you being a fully active agent in your own life.
El-Sayed isn’t much older than me, and I wanted to be sure his claim about the onslaught of OnlyFans girls wasn’t happening to me, so I took a peek at my “For You” tab on Instagram. I’m happy to share that my feed is all Dragon Ball Z-themed exercise content, Linkin Park concert clips, Star Wars prequel memes, and fully clothed women performing drum covers of Slipknot and Korn songs.
Have I seen tempting content on Instagram, similar to what Abdul El-Sayed is describing? Yes. But your feed will reflect what you say yes to. Still, things will pop up every so often that I don’t want to see. There’s a button for that: Not Interested. The algorithm will respond.
If Abdul takes that action, it will solve much of his OnlyFans model problem, unless he or someone on his staff is simultaneously searching for that content.
The stoic philosopher and Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, said that “Our souls become dyed with the color of our thoughts,” and while some will contend that you can’t control your thoughts (My mind has trailed off three times to think about my dog whilst writing this sentence), your thoughts are a byproduct of action. What you watch, what you read, what you subscribe to. The things you let in take up residence and slowly shape your character, in their own time. Make better choices.
Abdul, your algorithm is dyed by the color of your search history. Do better, and encourage the same in those who listen to you.
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Stephen Kent is the media director for the Consumer Choice Center and creator of GeekyStoics on YouTube.
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