You might open an app to look something up, but immediately get distracted. You might intend to do some work, but not be able to remember what after a bit of scrolling. You might find yourself watching a recommended video floating across your feed and suddenly think to yourself: What Was I Looking At Again?

The feeds of Big Tech online platforms—that we know, of course, are designed to to capture our attention for as long as possible and capitalise off of that—have been made so overstimulating and fast-paced that what we experience online now often feels fleeting and fragmented. Not all narratives, forms of storytelling, or information fit neatly within the constraints of these platforms. Creators are incentivised to make content that performs well and conforms to constantly changing algorithmic rules and expectations. As consumers, the ways we perceive and process media, information, and culture have been subtly, and not so subtly influenced by infinite scrolling through ever-accelerating feeds.

For this year’s focus, we’re going to look at how these ways of consuming information have changed our thinking and our ways of seeing. Is it all just part of persuasion tactics to gather data to sell and feed back to us, or are there new ways of understanding these media ecosystems?

Visual identity by Mary Universe

Dossier

Dossier 18: What Was I Looking At Again?

Nobody remembers what they saw online yesterday, yet everybody saw roughly 9 hours of it. The feed is the most-consumed cultural object in human history and also the one nobody can quote back. We spent all year staring at it, trying to work out what all that looking amounts to. Our 2026 dossier is an attempt at an answer. Or at least at better questions. Read More

Event

Symposihmm 💬 The New Orality

In recent years, concerns over social media’s impact on cognitive abilities has been growing. While it’s very hard to prove a direct causal link with online platforms, studies have show … Read More