Why Is It Showing Me This? Recommendations
You watch one clip. The next one is almost the same. And the next. How does the feed know what to show you? Today you will look inside it — and learn how you can steer it.
For the parent: a one-page guide — questions for dinner and a card game, “the recommender”.
01Remember
Think about each question, then open the answer.
What do you usually order at the school canteen or the ice-cream stand?
Everybody has a favourite. You often take the same, because you know you like it.
What happens if the seller starts bringing you only your favourite, without asking?
It is handy, but you never try anything else. You may miss something you would have liked even more.
Who decides what you do next — you or somebody else?
You do. Even when something is suggested to you, the last word is yours.
02Story
This story is made up.
Maya often buys ice cream from a kiosk near school. The first time she takes strawberry.
The second time the seller is already waiting. “Strawberry?” “Yes!” Maya smiles.
The third time he does not ask. He just hands her strawberry. And the next day. And the next.
One day Maya sees vanilla, chocolate and lemon on the board. “What if I try something new?” she asks.
“Of course,” says the seller. “I just did not know you wanted to. I only remembered strawberry.”
The seller is not bad. He guesses from what he has seen. Feeds in apps do the same, only much, much faster.
03Worked example
Imagine a feed with six clips about different things: a dog, space, football, drawing, cooking, music.
You like
You press “like” on a clip about a dog. The program notes: “this child likes dogs”.
It guesses
For the next feed it puts in more clips about dogs. Not because it knows everything about you, but because that is the most likely way to keep you watching.
It repeats
You like a dog again. The feed gets even more “doggy”. Other topics show up less and less.
You decide
You can choose something else on purpose, press “show me something new”, or stop. The feed does not mind.
Real apps look at more than one “like”. Which ones exactly is different for each app. In the European Union online platforms must explain in plain language what their recommendations are based on, and the very largest must also offer a version that is not arranged by your profile. So you have the right to ask: “Why is it showing me this?”
04Try it now
1 · Predict
You liked four clips about dogs in a row. What will the next feed look like? Choose before you check.
2 · Run: the feed of clips
This is our own game, not a real app. The clips are made up. Press “I like it” on anything you want and watch what happens to the next feed.
3 · Change: you steer
Did the feed get narrow? Try these two choices.
05No screen: the game “The Recommender”
You need: 18 small slips of paper (draw 3 for each of 6 topics: dog, rocket, ball, brush, frying pan, note), a pen and one more person.
One of you is the recommender and holds all the slips. The other is the child. The recommender puts 4 slips of different topics on the table.
The child points at one and says “I like it”. The recommender takes away the other three and puts out 4 new ones — but at least 3 from the topic that was pointed at.
Play three rounds like this. At the end look: how many different topics are on the table? How much room is left for the others?
Now the child says “show me something new”. The recommender puts out slips from three completely new topics. How did the child feel at the two moments? Swap roles.
06Make your own
Draw a feed screen that is fair to the person watching it.
- Put a “Show me something different” button on the screen.
- Put a small note “Why are you seeing this?” and write what it should say, in plain language.
- Think of where a person can stop: “That's enough for today”.
- Explain to someone else: show the drawing to a younger child and tell them how a feed guesses. Ask if they would want such a button.
07What I learned
- A feed guesses what you will like from what you did before. It does not really know you.
- Every “like” makes it a little narrower. “Show me something new” widens it again.
- You decide when to stop and what to choose. You can also ask: “Why is it showing me this?”
A feed guesses from what you did. And you — what do you use to choose what to do next?
Check yourself
1. How does a feed decide what to show you?
2. The feed got very samey. What can you do?
3. Who decides when you stop watching?
It is yours when you can explain to someone how one “like” changes the feed and what to do to make it more varied. No points and no ranking — only a skill.
08I have a question
Do you still have a question? Write it here. It goes to your parent, not to strangers. Your parent confirms their e-mail first.
The form is loading… If it does not appear, write your question on paper and show it to a parent or teacher.
·Sources
- Title: Why Is It Showing Me This? Recommendations (DB-II-02) · Author: Children's Library, East Accelerator Foundation · Source: original content and original game code, 2026 · Rights: CC BY-SA 4.0.
- The story is made up. All clips and topics in the game are invented by us; there is no real platform, account or login.
- On recommendations in the EU: Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act), art. 27 (platforms explain the main criteria of their recommendations in plain language) and art. 38 (the very largest platforms offer at least one option not based on profiling). Checked 2026-11-01 against an unofficial copy of the text — EUR-Lex could not be read automatically ⚠️ final confirmation by a human against EUR-Lex.
- School link: Informatics and IT, grades 5–7 — responsible use of the internet ⚠️ unverified, not shown as a link.
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Children's Library, East Accelerator Foundation, 2026. You may share and adapt this lesson if you credit the author and keep the same licence. Learning is free forever.