Social platforms abandon real connections, flood feeds with AI-driven attention traps
Experts say social networks have moved beyond genuine interaction, now prioritizing AI-generated content that maximizes user attention and ad revenue.
According to sociologist Marc Smith, social platforms have abandoned their original purpose of linking real-world acquaintances and now operate as "digital media" that monetizes every second of user attention. The evolution progressed from friend-focused graphs to influencer-centric content, and now to limitless AI-generated posts that flood users' timelines with fabricated stories, political ads, and viral trends. Companies are responding by deleting suspected bot accounts—X removed 42,000 and Google eliminated 130,000 YouTube channels—but creators like the German channel Kurzgesagt claim the algorithms mistakenly target human-made videos.
New detection features on Substack, partnered with AI firm Pangram, and LinkedIn's "Seems Like AI Slop" button have drawn both praise and criticism, with some writers calling the measures a "witch hunt." The piece also references a California jury award of $6 million to a woman harmed by addictive platform designs, underscoring the growing concern over algorithmic addiction likened to narcotics.
Why it matters
Understanding how platforms manipulate attention with AI helps users gauge the impact on privacy, mental health, and the credibility of online information.
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