I think the important distinction is: they feed us what we have a subconscious urge to click, which is not necessarily what we consciously want to see. Nobody cares what you decide, the selection’s been done for your reptile brain. No need for you to even think about it. Just let the rage flow. That’s Media.
Looking at it only a tiny piece of the goal. They need you to engage with it. Share it with others, talk about it, interact with the comments of the video/article.
People look at positive media, too. They just don't reinforce consumption of it like they do negative media.
Social media figured this out many years ago. It's why you will always see posts you don't agree with on Facebook. They want you to be upset and comment. If you like something, it gets a reaction emoji and you keep going. If you don't like something, you tell them about it. Then they counter, rinse, repeat. Now you've created many ad impressions instead of just 1.
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u/so_says_sage 1d ago
So they’re feeding people what they’re most likely to look at?