Main content
Course: Social media literacy?>?Unit 2
Lesson 2: How the attention economy shapes social mediaHow does competing in the attention economy shape the social media products we use?
The end of privacy?
How does competing in the attention economy shape the social media products we use?
The attention economy is made up of anything trying to capture our limited attention. Because companies are able to profit from your attention, there is intense competition within the attention economy.
Social media apps are incentivized, or motivated, to develop increasingly persuasive techniques ¨C notifications, targeted content, personalized feeds, and more ¨C to:
- Keep you coming back
- Get your friends to use them
- Collect more data about you so that they can get better at capturing your attention and influencing your behavior
That last point is particularly key to their success. 365体育网投thing we do online is monitored and analyzed. 365体育网投thing we¡¯ve ever clicked on, how long we¡¯ve hovered over a post in our feeds, how deep we've scrolled on our friends¡¯ profiles ¨C it¡¯s all data that helps companies study us better. They are able to track behaviors like:
- The types of videos we watch
- The news we click on
- The products we search for
- Who we talk to
- Which posts we linger on
Apps then feed this information into complex that determine which content to show us. Generally, algorithms use what they know about us to show us content that gets us to like, click, and share.
¡°This is what every business has always dreamt of: to have a guarantee that if it places an ad, it will be successful. That¡¯s their [social media companies¡¯] business. They sell certainty. In order to be successful in that business, you have to have great predictions. Great predictions begin with one imperative: you need a lot of data.¡±
¨CShoshana Zuboff, professor and author of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism in The Social Dilemma
This doesn¡¯t happen through sponsored ads only: videos that autoplay, promoted posts from influencers, and clickbait sites that cleverly disguise ads in posts are just a few of the examples of types of services paid for by advertising. On top of that, advertisers are able to target their messages to specific audiences: for example, by zip code, gender, age, relationship status, hobbies, job, education, and much more. (Check out the screenshot below to see just the basic targeting options Facebook offers to advertisers.)
More advanced options allow advertisers to target based on complex psychological factors. Say that someone wanted to target information at people likely to believe in conspiracy theories. They could identify a group of a few dozen conspiracy theory believers, then use ¡°Lookalike¡± targeting to point ads at millions more. This technique has been used by everything from small businesses looking to find a niche audience to foreign governments trying to stop people from voting.
We¡¯re told by social media apps that their goal is to connect, educate, and entertain through the sharing of photos, text, and information. The technology certainly does that some of the time.
But once we understand social media companies¡¯ business model (how a business designs products and services to generate revenue) it¡¯s obvious that their interests are not aligned with ours.
Want to join the conversation?
Even if we continue to go back to are apps can we still be on there a healthy amount?(6 votes)
Yes, you just have to use it wisely!(5 votes)
Isn¡¯t this against the law?(4 votes)
I think no. Because they usually have the terms and condition that you must accepted before making your account.(6 votes)
It seems as if Khan Academy suggests that this "attention economy" as an ultimately a negative aspect of social media. Knowing this, how should everyday users respond to this information? Is there a way to actively counteract its effects? Or are we obligated to give up social media all together? Thank you!(3 votes)
Hey there! So, according to Khan Academy, it's a good idea to be mindful of how much time you spend on social media. They suggest using it for positive and self-growth purposes. Sounds like a beautiful way to make the most of your time online, right? :D(7 votes)
- So is there a good side of social media?(1 vote)
The good side of social media is that we can instantaneously interact with one another and share our interests. With more mindfulness and compassion, it could be just a bit of a better place.(8 votes)
Is it just me, or isn't it kind of creepy being watched and "analyzed", even if it may be a computer doing these things? Does it make it safe? Does it make it easier for hackers and all those people to know what we are doing? Please tell me what you guys think.(3 votes)- i feel like its safe but i have gotten hackted on roblox before a lot by the same acc somehow and watching the "fbi is watching your every move online" videos is kinda creepy to me but i dont think its real tbh but i feel safe online i also think they know bc they hack into ur acc and when u make it u give them all ur info so they can see it most apps send u a code to the linkted email or phone number so they cant change or get into ur phone,computer or tablet.(1 vote)
- How are they able the gather personal data about us even if we've never posted about it?(3 votes)
- How do they know so much(2 votes)
your telling me someone is watching my every movement on social media (little creepy, no)(2 votes)
Yes it is! now of course i sound paranoid. but im not you can read articles about this. courporations WANT DATA and info from you. it could be your Alexa in you livingroom, your siri on your phone, smart sunglasses, smart TVs, they want to spy on everything. you dont even HAVE the OPTION to turn these things off. try it. doesnt matter if its TV or Alexa, or even your phone.(1 vote)
Are people working on making social media/online safer? If so, how?(2 votes)- Phones are bad if you're on it all the time and constantly checking it.(2 votes)