Digital slot machines: social media platforms as attentional scaffolds
In this paper we introduce the concept of attentional scaffolds and show the resemblance between social media platforms and slot machines, both functioning as hostile attentional scaffolds. The first section establishes the groundwork for the concept of attentional scaffolds and draws parallels to t...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer Nature
2024
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| _version_ | 1811139808347553792 |
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| author | Voinea, C Marin, L Vică, C |
| author_facet | Voinea, C Marin, L Vică, C |
| author_sort | Voinea, C |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | In this paper we introduce the concept of attentional scaffolds and show the resemblance between social media platforms and slot machines, both functioning as hostile attentional scaffolds. The first section establishes the groundwork for the concept of attentional scaffolds and draws parallels to the mechanics of slot machines, to argue that social media platforms aim to capture users’ attention to maximize engagement through a system of intermittent rewards. The second section shifts focus to the interplay between emotions and attention, revealing how online attentional capture through emotionally triggering stimuli leads to distraction. The final section elucidates the collective implications of scaffolding attention through social media platforms. The examination of phenomena such as emotional contagion and the emergence of group emotions underscores the transition from individual experiences to shared collective outcomes. Employing online moral outrage as a case study, we illustrate how negative emotions serve as scaffolds for individuals’ attention, propagate within social groups, and give rise to collective attitudes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T08:28:59Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:4bf7adde-473f-4ec1-bac5-73d49f9e464f |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:11:58Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:4bf7adde-473f-4ec1-bac5-73d49f9e464f2024-06-25T09:43:44ZDigital slot machines: social media platforms as attentional scaffoldsJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:4bf7adde-473f-4ec1-bac5-73d49f9e464fEnglishSymplectic ElementsSpringer Nature2024Voinea, CMarin, LVică, CIn this paper we introduce the concept of attentional scaffolds and show the resemblance between social media platforms and slot machines, both functioning as hostile attentional scaffolds. The first section establishes the groundwork for the concept of attentional scaffolds and draws parallels to the mechanics of slot machines, to argue that social media platforms aim to capture users’ attention to maximize engagement through a system of intermittent rewards. The second section shifts focus to the interplay between emotions and attention, revealing how online attentional capture through emotionally triggering stimuli leads to distraction. The final section elucidates the collective implications of scaffolding attention through social media platforms. The examination of phenomena such as emotional contagion and the emergence of group emotions underscores the transition from individual experiences to shared collective outcomes. Employing online moral outrage as a case study, we illustrate how negative emotions serve as scaffolds for individuals’ attention, propagate within social groups, and give rise to collective attitudes. |
| spellingShingle | Voinea, C Marin, L Vică, C Digital slot machines: social media platforms as attentional scaffolds |
| title | Digital slot machines: social media platforms as attentional scaffolds |
| title_full | Digital slot machines: social media platforms as attentional scaffolds |
| title_fullStr | Digital slot machines: social media platforms as attentional scaffolds |
| title_full_unstemmed | Digital slot machines: social media platforms as attentional scaffolds |
| title_short | Digital slot machines: social media platforms as attentional scaffolds |
| title_sort | digital slot machines social media platforms as attentional scaffolds |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT voineac digitalslotmachinessocialmediaplatformsasattentionalscaffolds AT marinl digitalslotmachinessocialmediaplatformsasattentionalscaffolds AT vicac digitalslotmachinessocialmediaplatformsasattentionalscaffolds |