The more time you spend online, the more it seems as if your feeds already know what you want to look at. That’s a legitimate thought. Behind the scenes, algorithms are watching what you’re viewing and coming up with recommendations for what to access next. And it works; YouTube reports 70% of watch time comes from recommendations.

While this may appear helpful and harmless, it actually isn’t. You might unknowingly be directed to view things that aren’t what you intended, your worldview may get narrowed, and you could be consuming valuable time unnecessarily.

Here’s a deeper look at how your Nigerian content is being curated by algorithms, how businesses are benefiting, and the dangers behind that next click.

How Algorithms Curate Your Content

What you see on your social media, news, search engine and browser feeds isn’t random. For brand-new users, it starts off that way, but everything you visit, view or click on determines what you’ll see next.

Your browsing history is where it all starts, but that’s only one aspect of your algorithmic recommendations. Let’s say you’ve been considering a beach holiday in Lagos and you live in Abuja. All you need to do is click on one beach hotel, and the algorithm predicts that you want more information. All of a sudden, your feed starts showing you other hotels in Lagos. Additionally, your current location factors heavily into what comes up on your feed. The AI has figured out that you need to get from Abuja to Lagos, so it may start showing you content around flights.

If you’re a busy browser and in one day you’ve looked at beach hotels in Lagos, the political news in Anambra, and a seafood restaurant in the next suburb, your AI algorithms have options. What will it display first? That will come down to a few factors:

• Repeat searches: If the political news in Kano is the item you search for most frequently, the algorithm will tend to choose that as your next suggested view.
• Current location: Where your device currently is contributes significantly to what’s displayed on your feed, and algorithms are taught that local content is a priority.
• Dwell time: If you’ve done multiple searches on restaurants nearby but spend more time on the beachfront hotel’s website, the algorithm considers that you’re most interested in your beach holiday right now – and your feed will reflect that.

How Businesses Determine What You See

How do businesses know that you’re interested in a particular good or service they provide? It’s in the cookies. Accepting cookies gives every site you visit permission to view your browsing behaviour. Each cookie is a stored file providing the company with your preferences and how much time you’ve spent on each page. What many people don’t realise is that tracking cookies share this information with other organisations.

For example, let’s say you’ve been considering the Vila Gale Lagos 4-star hotel and you’ve spent quite a bit of time looking at its ocean-view rooms. Not long after that, Carvi Beach Hotel appears on your feed, offering you a promotional rate on its ocean-view rooms. It’s not a coincidence. It’s the tracking cookies doing their work. Businesses benefit from this, as the more time you spend on their site, the more they make in advertising revenue.

Cookies are a more natural way for businesses to get your attention, as they provide them with details about your search history to curate what they believe you want to see. But there’s another way their content is put on your feed, and it’s a little more sinister. It’s referred to as “commercial considerations,” which is just a fancy name for “paid to promote.”

An algorithm can be programmed to favour paid-for content over what a user actually wants to see. If you’ve ever had something pop up on your feed that is completely removed from what you’d want to view, that’s an example of paid-for algorithmic recommendations.

A childless fisherman in his 70s, scrolling through Facebook while sitting in his boat in Maiduguri, isn’t interested in a children’s book fair in Jos. Yet that’s come up on his feed. The algorithm has been instructed to promote this, regardless of the person’s interests.

This level of intrusive algorithmic recommendations is increasing the need for transparency.

Global Pressure for Algorithmic Transparency

With the rise in AI and how it is linked to algorithms, there is increased global pressure for fairness, privacy, and more transparency.

The European Union’s AI Act of 2025 has set the benchmark for what is sure to roll out globally. It’s the world’s first comprehensive legal framework regulating artificial intelligence and covers all companies in the European Union and any global organisations that do business with these companies.

The act aims to ensure AI is safe, ethica,l and respects individual rights, including in the form of algorithmic recommendations.

Algorithmic bias is a considerable concern, especially in a country like Nigeria. Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has already raised the issue of algorithmic bias in the recruitment and medical fields. It has partnered with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to help develop ethical AI governance frameworks.

The goal is to ensure AI systems are transparent, fair and inclusive, reducing biases that stem from algorithmic reinforcement loops.

What Algorithmic Transparency Can Learn From the iGaming Sector

Source: Freepik

A sector that is already going down the transparency route is the iGaming sector. It uses formalised, transparent evaluation frameworks in ways many algorithmic platforms do not.

Legitimate regulated operators have strict licensing requirements and undergo strict independent testing in the form of audits.

The audits have a checklist of red-flag criteria to work through before the platforms are approved, making the process fairer and more transparent. Some of the areas that undergo scrutiny include fair-play standards, testing and return-to-player (RTP) transparency, which is often in the high 90% range.

Transparency matters in high-risk digital sectors like iGaming, as players are using their own money to gamble. Players need to feel confident that the sites they go to are legitimate and transparent in their dealings. iGaming safety is paramount in every player’s mind, and relying on opaque algorithms doesn’t cut it.

Players prefer to rely on expert-driven review sites, like how CasinoHawks rates casinos. Aggregators like this base their curated lists using structured assessments of safety, fairness and responsible gaming measures.

With the Nigerian government already taking a stand on algorithmic transparency, it may benefit from looking at how the iGaming sector has already found success along similar lines.

The Dark Side of Algorithmic Recommendations

It’s helpful to know how to identify when algorithms are shaping your decisions. While many algorithmic recommendations are useful, some can be frustrating and possibly dangerous.

Be on the lookout for what’s known as “repetitive content loops.” This refers to the same content being regurgitated over and over, just from a variety of sources.

If you love cats, your social media algorithm may have picked this up and offered you a cute cat video, which you’re happy to watch. That video is followed by another and another – 30 minutes later, you’re still watching cat videos. While this might be entertaining in minor doses, it can get out of hand, become addictive, and non-productive.

We mentioned earlier that checking the political news in another city can trigger algorithmic recommendations on the same topic.

However, this can result in a narrow worldview, as you’re not being given a broader range of news topics. This is known as a “filter bubble,” where other relevant content is being kept from you.

Sponsored posts that algorithms are being programmed to deliver to you can go two ways. First, you may end up being influenced to buy something that you don’t necessarily want or need. Second, it can lead to frustration as you’re being bombarded with a topic that is of zero interest to you – like the childless fisherman being directed to a children’s book sale.

Algorithmic influence can empower users in a digital world, but it can also be harmful. Be extra mindful of the recommendations that appear on your feeds and decide whether this curated content is actually what you’re looking for or if you’re being subtly misdirected for commercial or other gains.