The feedback loop where behavior becomes data, data becomes prediction and prediction becomes influence
You interact online
Likes, pauses, comments, shares, even how long you hover over a post
Not neutral; Signal
Patterns establish
Models don’t need to “understand” you, they just need to know
what keeps you engaged
what escalates emotional response
what makes you come back
The algorithm adapts
It optimizes your data to maximize time, attention and reaction
It’s about retention
We are both user and product
Users consume content
the product is your attention, preferences
and predictability sold to advertisers, political campaigns
data brokers and internal growth metric analysis firms
If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product
The system
shows you more of what worked before
narrows your exposure
subtly shapes your future behavior
profits
Over time, it can amplify outrage, fear, identity signaling and tribal thinking
Algorithms condition behavior
Once a platform learns
what makes you angry
what makes you feel seen
what makes you feel threatened
what makes you want to buy
It can reliably steer your attention automatically
It’s behavioral nudging with asymmetric power
It’s the political economy of attention
Attention is a scarce resource
power and money flows to whoever captures and controls it
and institutions are built to extract, trade and weaponize it