Srinagar, Oct. 1 -- By Khalid Mustafa

A few years ago, anyone curious about a subject went looking for it.

They opened a book, asked somebody who knew, read an article from its first line to its last, or watched a whole programme.

Now a few seconds of thought, one search or one video is enough, and the feed seems to know what caught the mind.

One reel becomes five and five become twenty.

Facebook and Instagram, both run by Meta, use recommendation systems that learn from what people watch, search for, like, share, skip or spend time viewing.

A phone should help us think, and the trouble starts when it begins to think for us.

The benefit is real.

Someone taking up fitness finds videos on exercise, healthy food, running and the gym....