The Harmful Nature of the Attention Economy: In Search of a Link between Social Media Features and Psychological Harm

The discourse on the harmful effects of social media (SM) platforms on mental well-being, while dynamic and extensive, is at the same time inconclusive. Researchers still have not settled fundamental issues, such as whether the use of SM can be attributed to a harmful causal effect, and, if so, whether this effect has practical significance. The reason for this inconclusiveness may lie in the complex nature of SM, which makes it difficult to distinguish the real risks within a pool of diverse effects, both positive and negative. The paper addresses this challenge by identifying and presenting theoretically grounded causal links between (1) the business model of platforms, (2) specific platform design, and (3) the psychological harm identified among SM users. The first part of the paper describes an SM business model based on the attention economy as a source of specific technical solutions. The second part elaborates on specific social media features that support the platform’s business goals (e.g., infinite newsfeed, autoplay video) and discusses the mechanisms of their harmful potential. The third part presents a classification of harms that can be linked with SM design, including: behavioural harms – mainly related to excessive SM use; psychopathological harms – related to SM potential to contribute to the development of mental disorders; and cognitive harms – associated with lower cognitive abilities resulting from SM use. Finally, practical and regulatory implications are proposed. The paper provides the argument for the harmful potential of SM arising from the attention economy business model.