The Algorithmic Trap: How Social Media Feeds Our Desires and Fuels Capitalism

I post on social media content which has a positive impact on my followers or something interesting that I researched to satisfy my own curiosity and want to document it via a post or an article. In this way, I ensure that my time spent on social media is beneficial to me as well as it is for you, my dear reader.

But there is no guarantee that you will see my posts, neither is there a guarantee that I will see your posts. What we see on social media is determined by an algorithm that aims to maximise the profitability of the platform that it serves. We only see what it believes should be shown to us.

This algorithm listens to our conversations via our mobile and pc, analyses the content we like, analyses our comments, the videos we watch, our whatsapp messages etc. It profiles us and then decides what should appear on our devices and in what order too. The crazy thing is that we already know this. But the dopamine hit from just one "like" eggs us on, like a moth to a candle.

This obviously got me thinking: how serious is this problem really, how does it actually work and what can we do about it?

Kindly comment and share this content - if you see this article, ofcourse.

On average, people scroll through about 90 meters (300 feet) of social media content every day. This is roughly the height of a 30-story building! Other studies calculated that users scroll the equivalent of 13.2 meters (43 feet) daily, which accumulates to around 3 miles of content each year - just under 5 kilometers.

The sheer volume of scrolling highlights how deeply embedded social media has become in our daily lives, impacting our behavior and attention spans in profound ways.

This extensive scrolling not only consumes time but also affects our psychological and financial choices as we are continuously exposed to personalized ads designed to fuel consumerism. It's a reminder of how much of our virtual lives are shaped by algorithms aiming to maximize profits for the platforms.

In today’s digital age, social media has become the dominant lens through which many people experience the world. Platforms like, Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube offer us endless streams of content tailored to our individual preferences.

On the surface, this sounds ideal—who wouldn’t want to be fed exactly what they’re interested in, without having to sift through irrelevant content? Yet, beneath this apparent convenience lies a more insidious reality: social media platforms aren’t merely catering to our desires; they’re shaping them in ways that fuel the engine of capitalism, all while exploiting our data and privacy.

The Algorithm: Designed for Engagement, Not Enrichment

At the heart of this phenomenon is the social media algorithm, a highly sophisticated piece of technology designed to keep users engaged for as long as possible. While these algorithms may seem benign, offering a personalized experience, their true objective is not to deliver what we need but to maximize engagement for advertising revenue. This subtle distinction has far-reaching consequences.

The algorithms driving platforms like Instagram and TikTok are optimized for time spent and clicks, rewarding content that sparks immediate emotional responses—whether that's joy, outrage, or curiosity. But more often than not, these platforms serve us content that aligns with our immediate wants, not our long-term needs. It's the digital equivalent of a fast-food diet: satisfying in the short term, but hollow and potentially harmful in the long run.

Research from the Pew Research Center shows that 72% of Americans use social media on a daily basis, with a significant portion of time spent scrolling through algorithmically curated feeds. What most users don’t realize is that these platforms are less about delivering value and more about ensuring you spend enough time interacting with the ads that line your feed. The more time you spend on the platform, the more ads you see, and the more money the platform makes.

The Illusion of Choice

A core component of this problem is the illusion of choice. The algorithms feed us content that reinforces our existing preferences and biases. YouTube is notorious for its recommendation algorithm, which has been criticized for pushing users toward increasingly extreme content. In one study by Data & Society, 64% of participants reported being nudged toward more radicalized viewpoints via YouTube’s recommendations.

This phenomenon is not just limited to radical political content—it extends to consumerism as well. Every time you interact with a post or video, whether it’s liking a picture of a new pair of sneakers or watching a review of the latest tech gadget, the algorithm takes note. It continuously refines its understanding of what you want to see next, funneling you toward making a purchase. The more you engage, the more your feed becomes filled with similar content, often from influencers and brands designed to make you crave the products they're pushing.

Psychologists call this “reinforcement learning,” a concept that algorithms have perfected.

Once you show interest in a particular product or idea, the algorithm bombards you with more of the same until you either make the purchase or continue down the rabbit hole of endless desire.

If you think you can beat the algorithm, stop kidding yourself.

These systems have been finely tuned by some of the brightest minds in data science and machine learning. Every interaction you make, no matter how insignificant it may seem, feeds into an ever-growing profile of your habits, preferences, and vulnerabilities. The algorithm knows you better than you know yourself and uses that knowledge to its—and capitalism's—advantage.

Privacy Invasion as the Price of Convenience

At the root of this engagement-driven model is an invasion of privacy that would have been unimaginable just a decade ago. The data we unwittingly surrender—our location, browsing history, search queries, likes, shares, and even private messages—are mined to create detailed profiles that allow advertisers to target us with unnerving precision. According to a 2019 study by Pew Research, 81% of Americans believe they have little to no control over the data that is collected about them, and yet most continue to use these platforms with little hesitation.

Facebook, for example, has been embroiled in privacy scandals for years, most notably the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the personal data of 87 million users was harvested without consent and used to manipulate voter behavior in the 2016 U.S. election. More recently, Instagram has been criticized for how it uses young people's data to target them with ads promoting beauty standards and products that exacerbate insecurities.

These platforms track users across the internet, not just on their apps. If you’ve ever wondered why an ad for a pair of shoes you briefly glanced at on a shopping site suddenly appears on your Instagram feed, the answer lies in the seamless integration of tracking mechanisms like cookies and pixels that follow you from site to site.

The Squeeze on Small Businesses

For many small business owners, social media has become a necessary evil. The promise of cheap and efficient advertising has lured millions of small enterprises to invest in paid ads, boosting posts in hopes of driving sales. However, most small business owners end up disillusioned. The reality is that social media ad ecosystems are designed to cater to the biggest spenders—multinational corporations and national conglomerates.

The algorithms that determine which ads perform best are geared towards those with the deepest pockets. Large companies can afford to run massive campaigns, testing and refining their strategies with millions of dollars in budgets. Small businesses, on the other hand, find themselves throwing money into a black hole, competing for visibility with a fraction of the resources.

A report by We Are Social highlights that 44% of small businesses feel that social media ad spending doesn’t deliver the results they need. Boosting posts or spending on paid ads may result in marginal visibility, but without the capital to repeatedly refine and target ads, many small businesses fail to see significant returns on their investment. Essentially, platforms are scraping cash from small business owners while delivering substantial return on investment (ROI) only to major corporations with massive budgets and the ability to optimize their campaigns at scale.

While social media platforms tout inclusivity and democratization of advertising, the truth is that the most successful campaigns belong to those who can afford the luxury of trial and error. Small business owners, strapped for cash and time, simply can’t compete with the finely tuned, data-backed advertising strategies of larger corporations.

Capitalism's Grasp on the Algorithm

Social media algorithms are ultimately designed to serve capitalism. By turning our data into a commodity, platforms sell highly targeted ads to corporations looking to push their products into the hands of willing consumers. The algorithms don’t care about the long-term impacts on society—they care about profits.

Consider the business model of Facebook. In 2020 alone, Facebook made $86 billion in revenue, nearly all of it from advertising. The platform’s success hinges on its ability to keep users engaged and deliver ads that are finely tuned to individual tastes. Similarly, TikTok’s meteoric rise has been powered by its hyper-targeted, algorithmically driven content, which makes it easy for users to stumble upon products that feel like they were made just for them.

The ease of buying through social media further reinforces this cycle. With a single click, you can purchase the product you didn’t even know you wanted 10 minutes ago. Amazon has capitalized on this with one-click purchasing and seamless integrations with social media ads, turning impulse buying into an art form. Meanwhile, companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon know that the more they feed our desires, the more likely we are to open our wallets.

The Psychological Toll

Beyond the financial impact, the algorithmic trap exacts a psychological toll. Social media platforms are engineered to play on human psychology, exploiting dopamine-driven feedback loops that make us crave more likes, shares, and comments. This addiction to engagement creates a scenario in which we constantly seek validation from our peers and the brands we follow.

I admit that I do look out for "likes" on my my posts, as much as I may deny it - it does generate a boost of dopamine!

What we’re left with is a distorted view of reality—one curated by algorithms that have one goal in mind: keep us consuming, both content and products. This constant bombardment of targeted ads and influencer content creates a world where we are perpetually dissatisfied, always needing the next thing to make us feel fulfilled.

In his book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Shoshana Zuboff argues that we have entered a new economic order in which human experience itself is commodified. Zuboff asserts that our personal data is harvested, repackaged, and sold to the highest bidder, creating a feedback loop that deepens the reach of capitalism into every facet of our lives.

Breaking the Cycle

The power of social media algorithms is undeniable, but it’s important to recognize the extent to which they shape our desires and spending habits. As users, we must become more aware of how these platforms manipulate our emotions and behaviors, and how our privacy is routinely compromised in the name of profit. Regulators, too, must step in to enforce stricter privacy laws and transparency around data usage.

Ultimately, the responsibility lies with all of us. It’s easy to fall into the trap of passive consumption, scrolling endlessly through curated feeds. But by making conscious decisions about how we engage with these platforms—and pushing for systems that prioritize our well-being over corporate profits—we can begin to reclaim control over what we see, what we buy, and how we live.

We have a choice: continue feeding the capitalist machine, or demand a more equitable, transparent, and ethical way to engage with technology. The algorithms may be powerful, but our collective will can be stronger.

All the best!

Sources:

• Pew Research Center: Social Media Use in 2021
• Data & Society: YouTube Extremism Study
• The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff
• We Are Social: Global Digital Report

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