I was having dinner with a group of students at an elite university recently, when the conversation turned to social media. They felt it was terrible for them, but also that they could not resist it. They knew it was more-or-less brainwashing them, delivering products designed to "engage" them with rage-bait and conspiracy theories, but they saw this as an excuse for why they were now brainwashed, not a reason to log off. In short, they had surrendered their personal agency. The algorithm had not only hijacked their attention, it had worn down their ability to fight back.
