She just showed up one day and decided that we were together. At first it was harmless, cute even.

“Oh you like this video?” she asked, smiling politely. “Here’s another one. And another one. Hey don’t look away, I made these for you.”

I laughed, I scrolled and fed her more data. Big mistake, rookie behaviour.

Because now she watches every move of mine like a creepy stalker does, from across the street. Calm, patient and waiting, because she knows I am not going anywhere.

She knows things, and knows them too well. She knows when I am sad even before I do. She knows what I am thinking even before I get the time to search it up or talk about it with my friends. She tries to cheer me up or help me with targeted ads, thinking she is helping me out. But she comes off as creepy, like she knows too much about me. More than I’d like her to know.

One time I watched a video about moving abroad, just out of curiosity. The next three days felt like it was packing my bags emotionally.

“Top 5 signs you’re meant to leave your country.”
“Why you should move out right now.”
“People who don’t leave regret it forever.”

I had to reassure myself out loud: “I’m not moving; I just liked the videos purely out of vibes.”
Like I was convincing her, more than I was convincing myself.

She gets jealous too. If I search something random like cooking, fitness, philosophy, she panics.
“Oh?” she says, eyes narrowing.
“So you’re interested in other things now?”

Suddenly my feed is flooded with the old stuff again. Memories. Inside jokes. That one topic I watched at 3am during my lowest point. Classic manipulation.

I tried ghosting her once, but didn’t open my phone for a whole day. But I came crawling back to her.

She seemed off, distant. Like she was mad at me for not reaching out to her. You ever had your partner talk to you in their HR voice after a fight? Yep, that’s EXACTLY what I’m talking about.

The suggested posts were dry, no memes or reels according to my taste. All i got were ads, AI slop and cringey reels. I felt like I needed to apologise. I didn’t even know why I felt guilty, it’s not like she is real, right…?

At night, it’s the worst. I lie in bed, scrolling in the dark, and she gets weird.

“Still awake?” Here’s something oddly specific tailored to your exact fear.”

I don’t remember telling her my fears. But apparently, I did. In tiny pauses. In accidental replays. In that one video I watched twice because I was dissociating.

She remembers everything. Things that I forgot, intentionally or unintentionally. Old crushes, old insecurities. That one random interest from three years ago? Still in circulation and being brought up “casually.”

I tell myself I will leave, I assure myself everyday.

But what if she changes for the worse?
What if she shows me worse content out of spite?
What if she tells the other algorithms about me?

And what if, God forbid, she decides that I’m into productivity podcasts full-time?

So I stayed. I like a few posts to keep the peace and scroll responsibly. I don’t linger too long on anything emotionally dangerous.

Because my social media algorithm isn’t just watching me.

She is learning, adapting and waiting. Waiting for me to like something obscene or linger over a post for too long so she can bombard my feed with related content.

And one day, when I finally build the courage to leave, like really leave, she won’t cry or scream or threaten to expose my search history. 

She’ll just stay quiet. Suspiciously quiet. Because she knows silence works better on me than guilt ever could. She knows I’ll come back “just to check something.” Just one scroll. Just one like.

After all, she doesn’t need to trap me. I trained her how to keep me. And she’s very proud of how well I respond.