By Rev. Dr. Philippe SHOCK Matthews, D.Msc., D.Ph. — The Metaphysical Minister of Mental Liberation
A note before we begin: If you are in crisis right now, call or text 988.
A young man I once counseled told me his phone had become the place where he felt “most seen and most alone at the same time.” The feed had learned exactly what would keep him watching, and what kept him watching was, disproportionately, pain.
The Question Beneath the Question
What does it mean for a young person’s sense of possibility when the machine curating their reality has learned that their pain is profitable?
A Trauma-Informed Explanation
Doomscrolling activates the same threat-detection circuitry as real physical danger. Algorithmic isolation results when recommendation systems built to maximize engagement serve more distressing content because it performs, narrowing a young person’s world into a feedback loop that confirms hopelessness.
An Africana Phenomenological Interpretation
The historical and systemic injuries named in the Trinity of Black Trauma are re-delivered through the feed, repackaged as content. Through the Four Frequencies, a young person can be pulled from First Frequency toward Second Frequency trauma-induced consciousness, into Third Frequency curated positivity performance, or Fourth Frequency misidentification of an algorithmically distorted reality as simply “how things are.” The digital divide compounds this: Black youth are more likely to lack the digital literacy resources to buffer algorithmic harm.
“Nothing is wrong with Black people…something happened to Black people! IT’S TIME TO BREAK BLACK TRAUMA!”
Radical Self Evolution requires the discipline of curating our own inputs rather than passively absorbing whatever the algorithm feeds us.
What the Research Shows
Tao and Fisher (2022), in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, found that social media racial discrimination exposure predicted higher depressive symptoms, anxiety, and substance use among adolescents of color. Timmons and colleagues (2023), in Perspectives on Psychological Science, called for mandatory bias assessment in AI mental health applications.
References
Tao, X., & Fisher, C. B. (2022). Exposure to social media racial discrimination and mental health among adolescents of color. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 51(1), 30–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01514-z
Timmons, A. C., Duong, J. B., Simo Fiallo, N., Lee, T., Vo, H. P. Q., Ahle, M. W., Comer, J. S., Brewer, L. C., Frazier, S. L., & Chaspari, T. (2023). A call to action on assessing and mitigating bias in artificial intelligence applications for mental health. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 18(5), 1062–1096. https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916221134490
The SHOCK Method Feed Fast Practice
- Audit before you scroll.
- Set a felt-sense timer.
- Run the impact check.
- Curate deliberately.
- Replace, don’t just remove.
- Take a weekly digital Sabbath.
You Do Not Have to Keep Carrying This Alone
Book Your SHOCK Method Discovery Call
Nothing is wrong with Black people. Something happened to Black people—and what happened can be named, understood, interrupted, and transformed.
If you are in crisis: Call or text 988, or text HOME to 741741.