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Course: Social media literacy > Unit 2
Lesson 3: How the attention economy distorts our views and our worldHow does the race for attention distort how we see the world?
What's even real any more?
How does the race for attention distort how we see the world?
“I like to say that algorithms are opinions embedded in code…and that algorithms are not objective. Algorithms are optimized to some definition of success. So, if you can imagine if a commercial enterprise builds an algorithm to their definition of success, it’s a commercial interest. It’s usually profit.”
–Cathy O’Neil, PhD, Data Scientist and Author, in The Social Dilemma
Because social media apps are caught in a race for our attention, they tend to promote more provocative, attention-grabbing content. That’s what keeps us engaged and coming back. Emotionally-charged content on social media achieves between 17-24% more engagement per “moral-emotional word” than content without it.
At the same time, everyone generates so much content each day that it’s impossible for platforms to show it all to us. Why do you see some posts and not others? Algorithms decide. They pick the content that is most likely to keep us liking and scrolling. They show us the stuff that's emotionally engaging and hide everything else.
We end up in an environment where we are all in competition with each other for attention. If we want our voices to be heard, we need to have more interesting posts. Usually that means:
- More hyperbolic language: “This is the most amazing cat video I’ve ever seen!”
- More “beautiful” photos: enhanced by filters
- More frequency: more chances to get attention
If we want to be seen, we need to construct a less authentic version of ourselves and our lives, one that people will like, comment on, and share – and that algorithms will pick up and amplify. If we feed the algorithm, we get rewarded with attention; if we ignore the algorithm, then we feel like we’re being ignored.
In the process, we’re doing companies’ work, for free: we are creating the content they use to grab our attention. What’s more, the people with the most attention-grabbing content become influencers, who are then paid to keep coming up with the most attention-grabbing content.
In this environment, we see increasingly fake versions of each other, as well as a fake version of the world around us. The algorithm doesn’t show you everything that the people you follow post – it shows you the content that is most likely to get you to like and share.
If you like fashion you’ll be surrounded by friends and influencers being glamorous. If you care about the environment, you’ll be surrounded by emotionally intense calls to save the planet. You’ll see a uniquely crafted version of reality that is more sensational than the real thing, since that’s what will keep your attention.
Want to join the conversation?
In this environment, we see increasingly fake versions of each other, as well as a fake version of the world around us. this actually makes sense(14 votes)
why do things seem so different in real life compared to the internet(4 votes)
It's important to remember that the internet is full of people who only highlight the happy and glorified parts of their lives. However, just like you and me, they are only human and don't lead perfect lives. It's crucial to remember that they, too, have flaws, just like everyone else.(5 votes)
I wrote a great few paragraphs about online beauty standards, and it deleted. So, pretend this is it :](6 votes)
What drives us to make a fake persona online to impress others?(4 votes)- Why do we see things so different from how they are in real life?(2 votes)
this is kinda sad tbh. cause if THATS HOW we wanna be seen, then what also happened to talking to people face to face without the phone? there was a video on instagram, were a kid and his grandma sitting in resteraunt and the kid wasnt really talking to her, i felt so bad i felt that seperation between them. like what will it take for people to make time for someone?(2 votes)
This is very true, on tiktok the algorithim is set to make certain videos go viral. I read that many of the content that goes viral is based on the beauty standards set by the algorithim. There are ways to go around the algorithim because technology has flaws ¯\(ツ)/¯(2 votes)- Why is it appropriate to use social media to go on rants when they're upset?(2 votes)
- Why is there people minding their own business while they on their phone?(1 vote)
- In this environment, we see increasingly fake versions of each other, as well as a fake version of the world around us. this actually makes sens(1 vote)