I couldn’t sleep last night. Instead of fighting it, I did what everyone does: I grabbed my phone, opened YouTube, and started looking for some instrumentals just to quiet my brain down.
What happened next was pretty wild, though I guess it’s common now. YouTube did its thing and started digging. Slowly, my feed shifted from “relaxing beats” to stuff I hadn’t heard in years. One click led to another, and suddenly I was deep in a rabbit hole of my own past. It’s crazy how these algorithms don’t just track what you like—they track who you were. I ended up sitting there in the dark, rediscovering tracks I used to have on repeat, each one bringing back a specific memory I’d totally forgotten about.
Growing up, my mamu ran what I can best describe as a custom cassette recording shop. I’m not entirely sure how legal the setup was, but as a child, the perks were undeniable. Between his shop and my own trips to the market later on, I new a little music :)
These days, I pay for Spotify—well, technically it’s for my brother. Even so, music isn’t my only “go-to.” When I’m working or just winding down, I’m just as likely to put on the Quran, a naat, or a bayan. Some people might find it weird to flip-flop between a playlist and a religious lecture, but to me, it’s never felt like a contradiction. It’s just two different parts of who I am, and I’ve moved between them comfortably for as long as I can remember.
I think that’s why last night felt so significant. It wasn’t just a “good algorithm” at work. It was the way these old sounds and memories stay stored inside us, just waiting for the right moment to surface. Sometimes, all it takes is a little insomnia and a search bar to realize the machine might actually know you better than you thought.
That said, I can understand why people are protective of their YouTube feed; it’s a symbiotic relationship that keeps us constantly engaged.