From the perspective of the platforms in question, content that grabs is valuable in its stickiness that makes users pay attention.
The logic is not altogether dissimilar from that of dating apps where the task is to find attractive options after being presented with a contingent mass of available choices by actors such as databases, social networks, likes, preferences, and algorithms. When something does grab attention, it leaves some kind of impression, no matter how momentary or minor, that evokes a desire to engage. When browsing through Facebook news feeds, trending tweets, or the top images of Imgur, most content flows by with little effect. Jodi Dean argues that the search for affective intensities drives the movements of users across social media platforms in search of both distracting thrills and more lingering attachments.
Awash with content available at scales too massive for human cognition to fathom, social media revolves around the constant quest of capturing and diverting attention tracking it through the clicks, likes, shares, and recorded visits and monetizing it.
