Algorithms are designed to keep your attention

The shift began in the early 1990s, when the World Wide Web moved from curiosity to global force. Silicon Valley quickly saw the prize: a borderless marketplace of billions. The question was simple-how do you make money from it?

At first, the model was harmless. You searched for how to remove a stain from a tablecloth, got your answer, saw a few ads, and moved on.

That was the problem. One search, job done.

There was no reason to return. You got the information; the tech company wanted your attention. The longer you stayed, the more ads they could show-and the more money they made.

So they studied poker machines. The model is identical: keep people engaged and coming back. Every detail is engineered - the sounds, the lights, the near misses.

The numbers almost line up, just enough to tempt another go. Small, unpredictable rewards keep you hooked.

What's happening in your brain is straightforward. Each tiny reward triggers a release of dopamine - the chemical linked to pleasure and reinforcement.

Over time, your brain starts to associate that feeling with the behaviour itself. So you're not just using the machine, you're being trained by it. In the 1950s, psychologist BF Skinner showed that if rewards are fixed and predictable, people stop when the rewards dry up.

But if rewards are random - sometimes large, sometimes small, sometimes nothing at all - people keep repeating the behaviour long after any rational reason to continue has vanished.

That is the principle behind social media: sometimes you get likes and approval, sometimes you get nothing, and sometimes you get criticism.

What you get, and when, is unpredictable, and that's what keeps you hooked. The algorithm decides who sees your content and in what context.

One post may be shown to people who applaud you. The next may be shown to people who disagree.

You never quite know what's coming next. Apps have even added counters so you can measure your popularity against others.

It didn't stop there. Socials discovered that divisive content kept users on the platform longer.

So their algorithms began quietly serving up posts that strongly agreed or disagreed with whatever you'd just expressed.

Outrage turned out to be excellent for business. And that's the point.

You don't see the system. You only feel the reaction as the dopamine flows. It has all been engineered to keep you hooked.

We didn't realise it then, but the world changed in 2007 when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone. Now you had the poker machine in your pocket.

You no longer had to go looking for stimulation. It was with you all the time, wherever you were.

And now it's powered by AI, not just algorithms.

There's an old Jesuit saying: "Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man."

The tech giants have taken that idea further.

Children who grow up swiping and scrolling are not just learning a habit; they are being shaped by a system designed to make that habit permanent.

Get a user young, and you've got them for life. Algorithms and AI are transforming our lives in many ways, but in social media the aim is to turn habit into compulsion.

What started as a distraction has become a dependency.

By 2022, around 95 per cent of teenagers were using social media.

That means the experiment is essentially universal - an entire generation raised inside systems engineered for maximum engagement.

Some of the consequences are becoming clear. In the 19 years since the first smartphone was introduced, a generation has grown up less resilient and less able to handle discomfort and real human relationships.

Anxiety and depression have surged, and for those aged 10 to 24, suicide is now one of the leading causes of death.

Social media and AI are not the only cause, but they are a powerful driver.

None of this is accidental. These systems are designed with one purpose: to capture your attention and keep it. The longer you stay, the more valuable you become. That's the business model. Every click, pause and scroll is measured. The algorithm learns what keeps you engaged, then feeds you more of it. Over time, it shapes what you see, what you think about, and even how you feel. You may think you're in control, but the system is quietly steering you.