BETA
Chapter 1
The secret history of memes
Chapter 2
The mechanics of virality
Chapter 3
The battle for your brain
Chapter 4
Memes around the world
YOUR GOAL
Master of How internet culture works
Ch 3 · The battle for your brain
toniamc74 Mark scrolling tricks on your bingo card to discover how apps fight for your attention.
futura The battle for your brain
Your feed is custom-built, a personalized design, To keep your scrolling finger endlessly online.
futura Social networks transitioned from showing posts in order of time to using complex math to predict what will keep you hooked.
futura Designed to mimic slot machines, features like infinite scroll exploit our psychology to keep us browsing longer than we intend.
Fun Fact
Infinite scroll regret: Aza Raskin, the inventor of infinite scroll, publicly apologized, estimating it wastes a combined 9,000 lifetimes of attention every day.
Glossary
attention economy (noun)
An economic system that treats human attention as a scarce and valuable commodity. In 1997, theorist Michael Goldhaber warned that the internet would turn human focus into a contested commodity.
An economic system that treats human attention as a scarce and valuable commodity. In 1997, theorist Michael Goldhaber warned that the internet would turn human focus into a contested commodity.
Quiz
What psychological mechanism, also used in slot machines, makes the infinite scroll feature highly addictive?
Quiz
Why do marketing brands often prefer micro-influencers over massive global celebrities?
Quiz
Which Nobel laureate first observed that a wealth of information creates a 'poverty of attention' in 1971?
Quiz
What natural barrier did the invention of infinite scroll eliminate from mobile web browsing?
Quiz
What is the primary commercial 'product' being bought and sold in the digital attention economy?