Before big tech captured our limited attention spans, we'd want to be paid for creating content for someone, especially if that content drove more users to a platform. But what happens now? We're promised engagement, likes, and attention for creating content on big social media platforms.
Sometimes an influencer will rise to the top and make some money, but it's rare and even doing that requires a lot of work. But this is one of the promises isn't it? You too can become famous for doing your thing and posting it and getting attention. Yes...you too can go viral. Maybe.
So here's the thing: those likes, snaps, streaks, and whatever little rewards your platform of choice throws out for engagement, this is the currency of the attention economy. Those rewards tap into the brain's natural reward system and promote a cascade of dopamine release. This makes us temporarily feel good. It's why people feel a tiny rush when they get some engagement on these big social platforms and why they keep going back for more.
The problem is that this feel-good cascade is relentless. It gets us addicted because we want to keep on feeling that rush, but the hit vansishes quickly so we need to replace it with more and more. And guess what? These seemingly innocuous social apps tap into the same reward system in the brain that drugs like Cocaine do.
Have you ever wondered why you feel the itch to check your phone even when you should be focussed on something else?