It really seems deliberate too considering they get worse over time. I used to find Netflix's algorithm to be reliable. I frequently saw things I had previously watched (not on Netflix) and enjoyed and found a few things to watch specifically because they were on there.

Now, though? It's full of things I've watched on Netflix, already have on my watchlist (which shows I intend to watch them), and garbage. For the life of me, I don't understand how Netflix can have a system that rates how likely it is that I'll enjoy something, and then put things rated 50-60% on my recommendations. It's like they're specifically trying to get me to watch things they know I won't like.

Haha that data gathering is not for your benefit. It's for 💵💵💵💵

It's intentional. They all used to be better. YouTube before monetization was absolutely amazing and had the best recommendations ever. You would get lost down the YouTube rabbit hole for days. Netflix OG ratings system also generated fantastic recommendations. It was actually one of their original selling points, that's how good it was.

I'm not sure why exactly it's more profitable to push shit ratings and recommendations, but it clearly is because all these corporations have made very deliberate decisions to do so. They don't care about our user experience so long as it's just good enough to stick around. And in Netflix case, the lack of quality recommendations probably helps obfuscate the lack of depth and quality they actually offer. I'm sure it's not a coincidence their recommendation algorithm kicked ass back in the DVD rental days but sucks now that their streaming options are limited.