I got a dog. My online life changed overnight.
I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. The TikTok algorithm seems to know you better than you know yourself.
The instant I got my dog — a lovely, adorable puppy named Henry — my entire online life changed. My TikTok For You Page (FYP) was suddenly dog video after dog video. My Instagram ads were entirely for dog-related products. Twitter was...still a cesspool of my own choosing, so at least there was that.
But life pre-Henry was totally different online. I had interests. I jogged, I air fried, I liked NBA basketball, I spent way too much time thinking about grilling. These interests were all displaced by the algorithms practically screaming, "YOU HAVE A DOG!"
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OK, but first take a look at my dog. A quick Henry break, if you will.
Look. At. That. Face. I love that dog. Anyway.
Our adoption of Henry was finalized Nov. 15, 2021. We brought him home on the New York City subway in an Ikea bag stuffed with blankets. I can't pinpoint the exact date my personal internet changed for good, but I suspect it was Nov. 16, 2021. It felt that immediate.
And sure, cute dog videos are a staple of pretty much everyone's experience on the internet but this was different. It wasn't just, "Hey look, a puppy being cute." It was far more specific and aimed at dog owners. I was getting served TikToks about crating your dog properly. Or "things you didn't know about puppies' behavior." Or it was products. So many products.
For instance: Today I checked Instagram. I mindlessly swiped through a portion of my friends' stories. Here's the ads I was served. Dog dentistry, dog treats, and an apartment that is dog friendly. Even my real estate surfing knows I have a dog now.
And TikTok, well, you can forget about TikTok. That's really where I began to notice my online life was changing. The app has a famously specific algorithm for its For You Page, that seems to know everything about you. And boy has that been the case since we got Henry.
I'll go five or six videos in a row without seeing anything but dogs. Granted, that's not a huge problem, but it's also totally different than my pre-Henry feed. I had more cooking videos, way more exercise content, and, well, random stuff. One day I was served at least 10 dog videos on TikTok in less than three minutes of scrolling, with most of them coming three or four in a row. It was all dog, all the time.
What I find most interesting about this shift in my online life is the specificity. It's not that I'm seeing more stuff about dogs — although I am. It's that the content is tailored to my life as a dog owner. It's about struggling to train a puppy, which, since Henry is just six months old, is a huge part of my life. Or it's an ad for veterinary or animal health care of some sort, which I'm sure is a result of my many Google searches about my oft-sick puppy's symptoms. Or it's advice on which treats to give your dog, which I suppose I would've blasted right past pre-Henry.
Speaking of Henry, here are more pictures.
My social feeds know I'm interested in dog content because algorithms know everything about me. I mean, look at this post. I am including pictures of my dog despite those pictures being totally unnecessary to the story itself. I'm obsessed with the little fella. Of course the algos would pick that up immediately.
Dr. Emilee Rader, a researcher at Michigan State University's College of Communication Arts and Sciences, has talked about just how much algorithms pick up.
"One thing that's important to keep in mind is that these systems are recording data about everything we do," Rader has said about her research on how algorithms affect our lives. "They watch everything from the people you are friends with to what you click on. They consider what you scroll through, how long you spend on a post, and which links you click on and read. They're taking signals and pieces of data and painting a picture of you. Then the system uses that data to chose what to show you."
The algorithms running the internet have a clear picture of me. I am a new dog owner. I am obsessed. And I want to know every last training tip, feeding hack, and see every last video of a dog running around. So, yes, my online life has fully changed due to Henry. But it's my own doing. I looked into my Instagram ad interests and it was now full of dog-related search terms. Just a sampling of the terms: Your Dog Magazine, Your Cat Magazine, Maltese (dog), Pedigree Petfoods, Animal Planet, Purina ONE, Welsh Corgi, and American Pit Bull Terrier.
I could go into my Instagram settings and set my ad preferences to include less dog content, but why would I? My puppy is a huge part of my life, no matter which way you slice it. The difference between online life and offline life is nearly impossible to discern at this point. Especially living in New York City, in the midst of a the cold, pandemic stricken winter — most of my life is online. Having a puppy isn't like having, you know, a human child, but it is a major life change nonetheless. Most of my day is spent thinking about the next time I have to walk Henry, or making sure he isn't eating the strings from his toy, or petting the little guy. Henry is a major part of my life away from my phone and computer.
The year is 2022. It was just a matter of time before being a dog owner took over my online life, too. Not that I mind. Who could be upset at that smooshy face?
Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).
