Our attention is our secret weapon

I’ve never been a person who argues much on the internet.

Maybe it’s the Pisces rising in my chart, or maybe I got most of it out of my system by hanging out on anime forums in the early 2000s. ;) Still, I’ll usually catch myself partway through writing an angry reply, and delete whatever rage-fueled message I was composing.

Still, in the age of trolls, bots, and the Dead Internet Theory, it’s worth taking a hot second to consider how we engage with social media. That’s because we all have a powerful tool in shaping the online world: our attention.

We’re all competing for attention on social media

There was a time when social media was about sharing tidbits of our lives with our friends! It was a sweet and special time, and I genuinely miss it! (where are my LiveJournal homies at?!)

Now, however, it feels more like shouting into the void and hoping someone answers. The vast majority of us are now on social for our work and our personal lives, which means more accounts, and more competition for attention. 

With the algorithm now running the show, that struggle for attention is also where social media companies get all of their revenue. They may purport to be selling sponsorships or ads, but what they’re actually selling is OUR time and attention. 

This is attention that we’re giving freely, which is fine… except that we’re often giving attention to the very ideas we don’t want to promote.

What are we telling the algorithm when we engage?

The algorithm has a lot of complexities, but on a basic level, we do know this: engaging with a piece of content tells the algorithm that someone is interested in it. When the algorithm sees that, it shows it to more users.

The problem comes when we realize that the algorithm doesn’t care why we’re engaging. It simply notices that we’re engaging.

Your heart-eyes-emoji commentary on your friend’s cute puppy photo? That’s engagement.

Your fury-fueled reply to some obtuse commenter on a news headline? That’s also engagement.

By commenting on ideas or beliefs, no matter what they are, you’ve increased the likelihood that other people in your networks will see it.

That’s great if you’re promoting a food drive or an artist whose work you enjoy... but less so when it’s Project 2025 propaganda.

Human, troll, or bot?

The other complication that we didn’t have to deal with back in my anime forum days is the rise of bots. The sad fact is, we no longer have the certainty that the people we’re interacting with on social media are even people at all. 

A recent podcast episode about Bot Farms and Trolls shared a few helpful ways to spot a bot. They also raised the point that paying trolls or setting up bots to promote your ideas has become a tool for everything from public relations to advancing political agendas.

Bots and trolls set out specifically to drive up engagement, and that's whether or not they even believe the things they’re posting online. They’ll make inflammatory comments, or even pretend not to understand an issue, because they know it’ll get our attention and our engagement. And that, in turn, gets them even more exposure.

Support the ideas that deserve to be seen

Knowing all of that, the social media landscape may feel pretty bleak… yet, it doesn’t have to be. If we want to undermine the control that today’s social media culture has over our world, we have everything we need: we simply deprive it of our attention.

Without our attention, bad actors don’t get the added exposure that comes with engagement.

Without our attention, billionaire-backed social media corporations don’t have a revenue source.

Without our attention, bots and trolls don’t have the influence they thrive on.

I know, just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s easy. Breaking old habits and creating new ones takes effort. Still, you have options.

If your Facebook feed shows you ads and rage-bait? You don’t have to stay there.

If looking at the comments on Instagram kills your mood and damages your mental health, go look up that vampire cat account you like instead.

Basically, if you’re scrolling on a social media platform, take a little inventory of what you’re liking, commenting, and sharing. Is it funny or creative? Is it enlightening? Do you believe the world needs it? 

If the answer is No, then maybe just scroll on past.