Is Recommendation Culture Making Us Act Nutso?

And is gatekeeping the solution to it?

I’ve obviously spent a lot of time thinking about recommendation culture.

This past week, I saw a wave of chatter about the topic, all kicking off with Alison Roman :

“I’m sure you’ve noticed, but recommendations-based content has a real chokehold on social media, most of all, this platform. The people who really thrive tend to give you the most precious or practical intel, promise you the most special and exclusive XYZ. If there was a newsletter that would tell me exactly what shade of neutral-but-not-boring cream I should pick for my living room, I would subscribe yesterday.”

That said, the assumed entitlement that everyone should have the option to have the exact same everything as everyone else has reached a…weird place. Everyone with the same clothes, the same reservation at whatever mid restaurant, the same Instagrammy vacation spot, the same secret summer swimming hole.” a newsletter

We have indeed reached peak recommendation culture. People incessantly seek and share recommendations for products and ex…