"We're flooded with short-form video and pinged constantly with breaking news. Many people, especially Gen A and Gen Z, are swiping and scrolling all day long. The lines between digital leisure and news consumption are fuzzy. You may hop on TikTok or Instagram to kill some time but end up being triggered by some take on what's happening in the world. And increasingly, that scrolling will include AI-generated slop."
"While most news organizations have abandoned a pure page-view business model, many news product teams still spend a lot of time optimizing for digital habit and engagement. Unfortunately, that digital "habit" can make people miserable. We're starting to see some people rebel against product strategies designed for digital addiction. People's continued reliance on platforms shouldn't necessarily be confused with satisfaction."
Digital life increasingly produces chaos and overwhelm through constant short-form video, breaking-news pings, and AI-generated content that blurs leisure and news. News product teams often optimize for engagement and digital habit even after abandoning pure page-view models, and those habits can produce unhappiness rather than satisfaction. Dating apps reveal the limits of algorithmic optimization: reduced friction and AI features do not create genuine connection and often prioritize subscription conversion. In response, people and startups are fostering more in-person engagement, with events, clubs, and mutual aid mobilizations bringing thousands together for real-world connection and civic action.
Read at Nieman Lab
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