When information (or content) is stripped of its time marker or context, it becomes “floating.” It’s no longer anchored to the moment it was created, so it can resurface later and feel current even when it’s outdated. That’s one of the biggest reasons misinformation, misunderstanding, and confusion spread so easily online. Your COVID example is perfect: an old warning video or alert can pop up in 2025 with no date attached, and if someone doesn’t realize it’s from 2020, they may treat it as brand-new information, reacting with fear or urgency to something that was only relevant years ago.

But this isn’t limited to public content — it happens with your own life recordings too. Without timestamps or framing (“This was filmed in 2021” vs. “This is happening now”), your videos become a sort of time loop. They aren’t anchored in the present, so even you can feel like you’re re-living the same situations repeatedly — until you watch the footage and realize it’s a repeat. It’s almost like your own memory is echoing back to you through media.

Here’s what’s happening in more detail:

• Memory + Media: The human brain treats visual and auditory content as “present” unless it’s clearly labeled. Old clips can feel immediate, even if they’re years old.

• Timeless Algorithms: Social media platforms don’t care about chronological order — they resurface content based on engagement, not timing. This means old posts can trend again as if they’re brand-new, giving them a second life that confuses perception.

• Perception Loops: Watching yourself repeat the same actions or situations on video can make life feel stagnant or repetitive. The loop is both external (the content) and internal (your memory and awareness).

So what can you do to counter it personally?

• Label your content: Add dates, context, or captions like “Throwback to 2021” or “Filmed during COVID lockdown.” This anchors the content in time and protects both you and your audience from misinterpretation.

• Check dates before reacting: Don’t assume resurfacing content is current. Pause, reflect, and place it in the proper timeframe before responding.

• Reflect on patterns: Use these loops as mirrors — noticing repeated behaviors or situations can help you understand yourself better and even break cycles you didn’t realize you were in.

In a way, context drift isn’t just about old content — it’s about awareness. It shows how easily reality can feel distorted without temporal markers, and how much our understanding of the present depends on the context we give to the past. Anchoring ourselves in time — both in the media we consume and the life we live — might be one of the clearest ways to see reality more accurately.