Trapping Users
How does social media use algorithms and emotional tactics to keep their users on the platform for longer?Video Summary: The "60 Minutes" segment titled "Social media and political polarization in America" features Tristan Harris, the co-founder of the Centre for Humane Technology. He explains how social media platforms use content that triggers emotional responses such as anger, sadness, or disgust, contributing to the division of political views.
Social media pushes information that increases user engagement, prestigious, in-group, moral and emotional (PRIME) information. These types of information boost user engagement, good or bad.
William Brady, Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations, Northwestern University, has found evidence that shows social media algorithms amplify extreme political views. This makes people think their political opinions are more sharply divided than they actually are.
Personalized feeds make each user's feed unique, helping platforms better connect to users. However, this also introduces privacy concerns and a lack of user control over automation and algorithms.