Attention & Design
How the most-used apps are built to hold attention, what the research and regulators say, and how each one earns from it.
Topics in this section
Facebook: the social feed & social comparison
Feed and notification changes, published research on social comparison and use, regulator and court actions, and Meta's responses. Advertising revenue is tracked from Meta's 10-K.
84 facts on file
Instagram: image comparison & teen well-being
Research on image-based comparison and body image, teen-account rules, regulator and court actions, and Meta's responses. Shopping and ad revenue tracked from filings.
70 facts on file
X: engagement ranking & high-emotion content
Studies of how ranking affects the spread of emotional content, changes to X's ranking and moderation, published algorithm code, and X's responses.
29 facts on file
TikTok: the recommendation feed & short-video habits
Research on short-video use and attention, screen-time tools and teen limits, state and federal actions, and TikTok's responses.
85 facts on file
YouTube: recommendations, autoplay & creator trust
Audits of the recommendation system, changes to autoplay and recommendations, policy enforcement reports, and YouTube's responses. Ad revenue tracked from Alphabet's 10-K.
99 facts on file
LinkedIn: career signaling & job-market pressure
Research on professional social media use, product changes (premium tiers, AI profile tools), labor-market data LinkedIn publishes, and LinkedIn's responses.
24 facts on file
Nextdoor: neighborhood alerts & crime perception
Research on neighborhood apps and perceived crime, moderation and alert-policy changes, and police partnerships as disclosed by Nextdoor and by agencies.
2 facts on file
Pinterest: aspirational boards & the shopping funnel
Shopping features, advertiser results Pinterest reports, research on aspirational browsing and spending, and Pinterest's responses.
40 facts on file
Amazon: Ring, Prime & convenience dependence
Ring product and policy changes, Prime membership terms and the FTC's Prime case, consumer research on convenience and switching, and Amazon's responses.
23 facts on file
Google Search: reliance on one gateway to information
Search share with the source named, AI answer features and how they change clicks to publishers, court findings, and Google's responses.
57 facts on file
Stories
No stories in this section yet. The topics above show what is on file.