QFD | Algorithmic Formation — The Doors We Enter

Algorithmic Formation — The Doors We Enter

A small notice flashes on your screen: “Learn how Meta will use your info to personalize your experiences. ”It sounds harmless—maybe even helpful. But pause on that word personalize. It means something larger than convenience. It means someone, somewhere, is deciding what you see next.

The longer we live in digital spaces, the more invisible teachers we have. Algorithms learn our habits, our moods, our late-night searches. They quietly shape what appears before our eyes. Over time, they begin to shape what we desire.

Jesus once said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness” (Matthew 6:22-23 ESV). He was talking about attention long before the internet existed. What fills our sight eventually fills our souls.

The Doors We Open

Every glance is a small act of agreement. When we click, scroll, or linger, we open a door. Each door leads somewhere—toward light or toward shadow. The truth is, none of us are neutral wanderers online; we are always being shaped by what we behold.

Genesis 3 reminds us how formation begins. Eve “saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes” (verse 6). Sin entered through sight before it reached the hand. The pattern has never changed. First, we look. Then, we want. Then, we act.

Our screens have simply multiplied the trees.

The Myth of Neutral Browsing

We like to think we are in control, that algorithms only reflect what we already prefer. But the system also predicts—and then trains—those preferences. It learns what keeps us scrolling, not what makes us whole. Over time, attention becomes allegiance.

Paul writes, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2 ESV). Conformity happens quietly. Transformation requires intention. If we do nothing, the world—digital or physical—will gladly do our forming for us.

The Better Gaze

There is another way of being formed. “We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image” (2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV). The contrast is striking: behold the screen and become restless; behold the Lord and become renewed.

What we behold, we become. That’s true for every heart, every culture, every feed. The gospel rewrites the algorithm of the soul. Christ trains our attention away from comparison and toward compassion, away from outrage and toward peace.

Maybe that’s why Jesus often withdrew from crowds. He knew how easily noise can rewire the spirit. Silence was not escape; it was calibration.

Practicing Discernment

We cannot leave the digital world entirely, but we can walk through it with awareness. Before opening an app, pause and pray, “Lord, guard my eyes and guide my heart.” Small prayers build tall walls against quiet corruption.

Ask simple questions:

• Does this feed stir envy or gratitude?

• Does it make me love people more—or judge them faster?

• After ten minutes here, do I feel lighter or smaller inside?

Discernment is not paranoia; it is stewardship. God gave you the ability to choose what forms your inner world. Attention is the currency of your soul—spend it wisely.

The Invitation

Forgiveness remakes a heart; attention directs it. When Christ forgave you, He didn’t just erase your past—He began shaping your future desires. The Holy Spirit keeps working through what you watch, read, and linger on. Every time you turn your eyes toward truth, you cooperate with that grace.

Imagine the internet as a vast city of open doors. Not every door is evil, but each one will mark you. The Spirit invites you to walk with Him through the right ones—to use technology without being used by it, to stay awake while the world drifts into distraction.

The Quiet Reversal

Try this: set your phone facedown for five minutes. Breathe. Look out a real window instead of a digital one. Thank God for the sky you didn’t create and the people you can’t control. That small act reverses the flow of formation. It says, “I belong to a different story.”

As Paul told the Corinthians, transformation begins with beholding Christ. The question is no longer What is the algorithm teaching me? but Who am I becoming as I look?

The doors we enter today determine the kind of soul we carry tomorrow. Let every doorway lead you back to light.

Reflection Questions

1. What online spaces most often shape your mood or your outlook?

2. How could you redirect your daily attention so that it points toward what is true, honorable, and pure (Philippians 4:8 ESV)?

Anchor Habit

Before you open any app, whisper: “Lord, open my eyes to what is true.”

Prayer

Father, You know how easily my attention drifts. Teach me to guard what I see and to seek what is good. Let every image, post, and word I encounter draw me closer to Your Son, not further away. In Jesus’ name, Amen.