Rob AndersonLead Coach/ Principle Owner, Stand Sure Coaching · Spending time in collaborative conversations with clients

Social Media: The REAL Psychological Cost of Attention #shorts

17 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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In this short monologue, the speaker explains how the uncertainty of whether a post will go viral creates a hook that keeps the brain engaged with social media. He argues that the attention generated by likes and views is not the same as genuine human connection. Citing social science research, he notes that platforms built around performative identity—where users curate an image for others—tend to increase feelings of loneliness, highlighting a deeper psychological cost of constant attention seeking.

Every time you post, there's this chance, there's this uncertainty. Is it going to go viral? Is it not going to go viral? And that's what keeps the brain getting hooked. But here's where the deeper psychological cost begins. Attention is not the same thing as connection. In fact, social science research consistently shows that environments that are built around performative identity often increases those feelings of loneliness.