The attention economy stokes conflict, turning social media platforms into merchants of hate. One part of this dynamic concerns upsetting stories that get to the top of the feed. But why does attention run to the latest sensational murder rather than some good-news story? Social media algorithms are designed to give the most visibility to disturbing stories. 1 However, the algorithms work as they do because of the way that the attention systems of our brains evolved.
The goal is to make buttons intuitive, easy to use, and - predictable. But is the disclosure, about participating in social media and expressing approval, full and revealing? I guess it all comes down to what you would define as a "positive experience". As I write this, two messed up, intertwined things are happening. Both can be directly linked to how the engagement dynamics of social media, driven by technology such as "like" buttons, has negatively impacted global politics.
Too many people use the word 'but' in relation to what happened overnight. "It's extraordinarily easy to condemn violent acts against somebody with whom you share their views. "It is much more important that we are consistent in terms of calling it out when it's against somebody whose work, whose views differ to us."
My social media algorithms knew I was pregnant before family, friends or my GP. Within 24-hours, they were transforming my feeds. On Instagram and TikTok, I would scroll through videos of women recording themselves as they took pregnancy tests, just as I had done. I liked, saved, and shared the content, feeding the machine, showing it that this is how it could hold my attention, compelling it to send me more.