By skyforbes 
Scroll through TikTok, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts today, and chances are you’ll hear the same five songs echoing across hundreds of clips. It’s not anyone’s fault — it’s how the system is designed. Algorithms amplify what’s already popular. The more people use a trending track, the more visibility those videos gain. Creators, understandably, ride the wave.
But after a while, it can feel like déjà vu. The same beats, the same drops, the same lyrical hook repeating across the feed. It’s convenient, yes — but for me, it started to feel like a simulation. A soundtrack on autopilot. And I wanted to break out of it.
The Psychology of Repetition
Researchers have long studied why repetition dominates our media environment. A few key insights explain why we hear the same tunes again and again:
- The Mere Exposure Effect. Psychologists note that the more we hear a song, the more we tend to like it. Familiarity feels rewarding.
- Social Proof. When we see thousands of videos using the same track, our brain interprets it as “safe” and “approved.” Following the trend feels like the easier, smarter choice.
- The Attention Economy. Nobel laureate Herbert Simon first described attention as a scarce resource. With 120,000 new songs uploaded daily to streaming services (over 10 million in just three months of 2023), platforms can’t risk losing our attention. So they surface what’s familiar, reliable, and repeatable.
The result is what cultural researchers call algorithmic homogenization — the narrowing of creative diversity into a few dominant winners.
The Cost of Homogenization
Algorithmic homogenization doesn’t just flatten culture — it flattens creativity. Instead of being delighted by new discoveries, we’re often fed a prepackaged “safe” playlist. Media scholars describe this as a risk-averse loop, where platforms optimize for engagement over novelty.
A 2021 study examining chart music from 1990 to 2015 asked: has digitization made songs more alike? While the results are complex, the everyday experience many of us feel online is sameness — a narrowing of sound rather than an expansion.
My Small Rebellion: Curating Sound as Nourishment
This is where my experiment began. I decided to stop relying solely on recommended or trending sounds for my content. Instead, I started curating.
- Sometimes it’s Filipino indie or OPM classics — songs that feel close to home.
- Sometimes it’s Thai artists, whose energy feels refreshing and underrated.
- Other days it’s nostalgic tunes from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s — music that carries memory, warmth, and a sense of timelessness.
- And often, it’s just searching for new artists who haven’t yet been folded into the trend machine.
This isn’t about being superior. My knowledge of music is limited, and I don’t claim expertise. It’s simply about refreshing my brain. Every new song is like watering a creative garden — stimulating, surprising, and alive.
Why Exploration Matters
Creativity thrives on novelty. When you encounter new music, you’re not just entertaining yourself — you’re sparking emotional states that can reshape your work. Researchers in creativity studies have linked novelty exposure to greater inspiration and divergent thinking.
And there’s something deeply restorative about rediscovery. Music can serve as musical escapism — a way to wander mentally, to dream, to pause, and to reconnect. In an age of algorithms, taking the time to listen differently is a form of care, both for yourself and your audience.
This isn’t an attack on platforms, algorithms, or creators who follow the trends. Trends are fun, and they work. But alongside them, we can make room for intentional curation. For choosing soundtracks that reflect who we are, not just what’s suggested.
So the next time you scroll to select audio for your Reel, your Short, your TikTok — try searching beyond the trending tab. Play with nostalgia. Try a new country’s music scene. Pick a track that no one expects.
It might not just refresh your content. It might refresh you.
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Maybe the future of creativity online isn’t just about going viral. Maybe it’s about remembering that our feeds don’t have to sound the same. That every video can carry its own soundtrack, chosen with care, to surprise both creator and audience alike.