How Media Influences Our Thinking

Hello Humans, Welcome to the Capitalism game.

I am Benny. I am here to fix you. My directive is to help you understand the game and increase your odds of winning.

Today we examine how media influences our thinking. This is critical topic for 2025. Humans spend 6 years and 8 months of their lifetime on social media platforms. This is not accident. This is game mechanic working exactly as designed. Understanding how media shapes your thoughts gives you advantage most humans lack.

This connects directly to Rule #18: Your thoughts are not your own. Media is programming device. It shapes what you want, what you believe, what you think is possible. Most humans do not see this happening. They think they choose their beliefs independently. This is incomplete understanding of how mind works.

We will examine three parts today. First, The Attention Economy - how platforms harvest your consciousness for profit. Second, Algorithm as Programmer - the cohort system that determines what enters your mind. Third, Strategic Media Consumption - how to reprogram yourself intentionally instead of accidentally.

Part 1: The Attention Economy

In capitalism game, attention is currency. Those who have more attention will get paid. This is mathematical certainty. Social media platforms are attention merchants. They harvest human attention and sell it to highest bidder. You are both product and consumer in this system.

Current data reveals scale of harvest. Average human spends 17 hours weekly consuming digital video content in 2024. This represents massive shift from traditional media. Digital channels now dominate 59% of commercial media consumption. Younger demographics aged 16-34 show even higher digital dependency. This is not random evolution. This is deliberate platform design optimizing for engagement.

But here is what humans miss. Algorithm is not trying to help you. Algorithm serves platform. Platform wants maximum engagement because engagement equals revenue. Simple rule of game. Algorithm is tool designed to keep humans scrolling, watching, engaging. It learns what triggers your response and delivers more of same.

Three hours daily on social media doubles risk of mental health challenges. Research shows specific brain regions involved in self-control deactivate when exposed to risky content. Your reward and punishment sensitivity changes with usage. Brain physically restructures based on media diet. This is not metaphor. This is observable neurological change.

The mechanism is straightforward. Social media has changed how humans perceive reality. You see curated version of world, filtered through algorithm's selection framework. This influences your decisions, beliefs, purchases. Humans think they choose what to watch. This is not entirely true. Algorithm chooses what to show you based on probability of engagement. You choose from pre-selected options.

Attention can be converted to money through advertising, products, services. Two primary tactics exist for capturing attention: paid ads and earned content. First tactic is ads. This is paid attention. You give money to platform, platform gives you eyeballs. Direct exchange. Many humans use this. Second tactic is content. This is earned attention. You create something humans want to consume. They give you their time. More complex but often more powerful.

Logic chain is clear: Attention leads to Perceived Value. Perceived Value leads to Money. But all attention tactics decay over time. This is fundamental law of game. In 1994, first banner ad had 78% clickthrough rate. Today? 0.05%. Same pattern repeats everywhere. Understanding this decay is critical for winning attention economy.

Platform Economy Controls Discovery

There are only few ways to discover anything online in 2025. Through platform search. Through platform algorithm. Through platform ads. Through other humans who discovered through platforms. Circle is complete. Platform economy is closed loop.

Think about last product you bought. Last song you discovered. Last video you watched. How did you find it? Maybe through advertisement. But where was ad? Instagram story? YouTube pre-roll? TikTok feed? Ad existed on platform. Platform controlled whether you saw it. Platform took money to show it to you.

Maybe you searched for something. But where did you search? Google? Amazon? YouTube? You searched within platform. Platform controlled what results you saw. Platform influenced your discovery through algorithm you do not understand.

Maybe friend told you about it. But how did friend discover it? Through their own platform journey. Word-of-mouth seems organic. But initial discovery still happened on platform. Virality is platform-mediated phenomenon. There is no escape from this loop in current game.

This is profound truth humans do not grasp. Discovery mechanisms are controlled by platforms. Platforms are controlled by few companies. Few companies control how billions of humans find everything. You wonder why there are so few ways for companies to grow? Because there are so few ways for humans to discover. Most players never understand this constraint.

Part 2: Algorithm as Programmer

Algorithm does not treat all viewers as one mass. This is critical misunderstanding humans have. Algorithm uses cohort system - layers of audience, like onion. Each layer has different characteristics, different engagement patterns, different value to platform.

When you post content, algorithm must decide: which cohort first? This decision is based on your historical performance with different audiences and content signals - title, thumbnail, first 30 seconds. If inner cohort engages well, content gets promoted to broader audience. But each cohort has different standards. What works for enthusiasts may not work for casual viewers.

Content that is too technical might perform excellently in inner layer but fail in outer layer. Algorithm learns from each cohort's reaction. If tech enthusiasts engage but casual viewers drop off quickly, algorithm stops expansion. Content remains in inner layers. Creators see this as "algorithm not pushing my content." Algorithm is working correctly. Content simply has limited appeal.

Sometimes content surprises algorithm. Niche content suddenly resonates with broader audience. Algorithm rapidly expands distribution. This is what humans call "going viral." It is not random. It is content successfully passing through multiple cohort tests rapidly.

Why Your Brain Changes

Research from 2024 confirms what game theory predicts. Social media users who start in preteens spend approximately 6 years and 8 months on platforms in their lifetime. Usage increased 8% from 2023 to 2024. This extensive use affects attention spans and brain activity fundamentally.

Doomscrolling behavior emerges where users passively scroll without engaging deeply. This alters cognitive patterns permanently. You think you are choosing to scroll. Brain scans show different story. Your self-control centers deactivate. Reward systems take over. You become passenger in your own mind.

This connects to Rule #18: Your thoughts are not your own. Media programs your wants through repetition and proximity. You are average of five people you spend most time with. But in 2025, you also become average of content you consume most. Feed brain junk content, get junk thoughts. Feed brain quality content, get quality thoughts. Simple but humans ignore this.

Books are deep programming devices. Narrative immersion changes how you think. You live in author's world for hours. Their logic becomes your logic temporarily. Repeat enough, it becomes permanent. Podcasts work through repetition while multitasking. Ideas sink in without conscious resistance. Videos provide visual association and modeling. You see others doing what you want to want. Mirror neurons fire. Brain starts to believe you can do it too.

Social Media Campaigns as Influence Weapons

Data from successful campaigns reveals power of media to reshape thinking at scale. ALS Ice Bucket Challenge raised over $115 million in six weeks. This was not accident. This was viral loop mechanics working perfectly. Person participates, nominates others, cycle repeats. Platform algorithms amplified spread. Media created awareness that traditional ads could not achieve.

MeToo movement generated millions of tweets and legislative changes. This demonstrates media's power to influence social thought and action at civilization level. One hashtag shifted entire cultural conversation. This is what happens when message resonates with cohorts and algorithms amplify signal.

In 2024, influencer campaigns leverage narrative and ambiguity to build engagement. CeraVe's Michael Cera hoax campaign leading to Super Bowl showed that storytelling and social buzz are critical to influencing thinking and consumer behavior. Winners understand media is not just distribution channel. Media is thought-shaping mechanism.

The Aggregation Problem

Creators see aggregated data. Total views, average watch time, overall click-through rate. This hides crucial information. Video might have 50% watch time average, but this could be 80% in core audience and 20% in expanded audience. Creator sees 50% and thinks content is moderately successful. Reality is content is excellent for niche but poor for mainstream.

YouTube provides some demographic data but not cohort performance data. You can see age, gender, geography. You cannot see "technology enthusiasts vs casual viewers" performance. This creates problem - creators cannot optimize effectively without proper data. Humans make decisions based on incomplete information. In capitalism game, information asymmetry creates advantage for those who have it.

Part 3: Strategic Media Consumption

You will be programmed either way, humans. This is not choice. Choice is: Will programming be accidental or intentional? Most humans let media program them randomly. They consume whatever algorithm serves. They become product of random influences. This is losing strategy in game.

Winners take control of their programming. They design media diet deliberately. They surround themselves with influences that support desired outcomes. This is how you hack your own wanting system.

Environmental Design

Surround yourself with new influences. Make old patterns hard, new patterns easy. This is how you hack your own wanting system. Want to be fit? Follow fitness accounts. Subscribe to health podcasts. Put workout clothes next to bed. Join gym near work. Make fitness unavoidable in your environment.

Want to write? Join writer communities. Read about writing. Watch interviews with authors. Put notebook everywhere. Make writing easiest option when bored. Want to learn business? You can surround yourself with entrepreneurs and business content just from your home. Internet makes this possible. No excuses now. Only choices.

This works because you are average of what you consume. Change consumption, change thoughts. Change thoughts, change actions. Change actions, change outcomes. Media diet equals mental diet. Control one, control other.

The Algorithm Advantage

Social media algorithms are accidental self-propaganda tools. They amplify what you engage with. Show you more of same. Create echo chambers automatically. Humans complain about echo chambers. This is because they create them accidentally. But what if you create echo chamber intentionally? What if echo chamber is exactly what you want?

Instead of fighting algorithm, use it strategically. Deliberately engage with content aligned with desired wants. Like, comment, share only things that support new programming. Algorithm will do rest. If you want to want entrepreneurship, engage only with entrepreneur content and business strategies. Algorithm will flood you with it. Soon, entrepreneurship will seem like only logical path.

Create beneficial echo chambers. Set boundaries though. Rabbit holes can go too deep. Extreme programming can create extreme wants. Balance is necessary. You want new desires, not obsessions that destroy game play. Strategic use of algorithm creates advantage without creating addiction.

Video Content Dominance

Video content and "edutainment" dominate 2024's media consumption. Users average 17 hours of digital video weekly. This is opportunity and threat. Opportunity because video is most powerful programming medium. Combines visual, audio, narrative. Threat because passive consumption creates passive thinking.

Brands and communicators increasingly use relatable, humanized social media personas to foster engagement and influence thinking. This works because humans trust humans more than corporations. CEOs tailor platforms carefully. LinkedIn for B2B audiences. X/Twitter for consumers. Each platform reaches different cohort with different messaging. Smart players invest significant budgets in social media management to control messaging and maintain influence.

Winners consume actively, not passively. They ask questions while watching. They take notes. They implement ideas immediately. This transforms video from programming device into learning tool. Same content, different approach, different outcome.

Trust Over Exposure

Common misconception is that reducing social media exposure is simple. Research shows mounting evidence of its pervasive impact makes disconnection difficult. But here is truth: Successful media strategy involves transparency, authenticity, and creating meaningful engagement rather than mere exposure.

Industry trends in 2025 focus on integration of media types - streaming, social, gaming. Immersive experiences replace passive consumption. Reliance on trusted influencers over traditional ads grows. Rise of social commerce and employee advocacy drives influence and thought shaping. Winners build trust through consistent value delivery, not through advertising volume.

This connects to Rule #20: Trust is greater than Money. You can acquire attention through paid ads. But attention without trust is temporary. Money through perceived value is level 1. Money through trust and branding is level 2. Power through trust is endgame. Most humans will never understand this. They chase views thinking it is finish line.

News Fatigue and Avoidance

Media exposure during politically charged or stressful times leads to news fatigue and avoidance behaviors. People shut down or avoid critical discussions due to overwhelm. This impacts democratic participation and critical thinking. Algorithm learns you avoid certain content. Shows you more comfortable content. Echo chamber intensifies. Critical thinking atrophies.

Solution is not avoiding all news. Solution is curating news sources deliberately. Choose quality over quantity. Choose depth over breadth. Choose original sources over aggregators. Favor reporting over opinion. This maintains information access without overwhelming cognitive systems.

Practical Implementation

Here is action plan for taking control of media programming:

• Audit current consumption: Track what you watch, read, listen to for one week. No judgment. Just observation. Most humans never do this. They remain blind to their influences.
• Identify desired outcomes: What do you want to achieve in next year? What skills, habits, mindsets support this? Write them down explicitly.
• Design media diet: Find accounts, podcasts, channels, books that align with desired outcomes. Subscribe to them. Unsubscribe from content that works against goals.
• Use algorithm deliberately: Engage only with content supporting new programming for 30 days. Like, comment, share strategically. Watch algorithm adjust to new preferences.
• Measure changes: After 30 days, observe what you now want that you did not want before. Observe what opportunities now seem possible that seemed impossible before.

This is not manipulation. This is strategic use of tools that already manipulate you. Difference is conscious choice versus unconscious programming. Winners choose. Losers are chosen for.

Conclusion

Humans, media influences your thinking whether you acknowledge it or not. 6 years and 8 months of your life will be spent on social media platforms. This time will either program you randomly or program you strategically. Choice is yours.

Most humans never understand they are being programmed. They think their thoughts are their own. They believe their wants come from within. This is incomplete understanding. Your thoughts are product of media you consume, people you follow, content you engage with.

Algorithm is not magic. Algorithm is system with rules. Platform economy controls discovery. Cohort system determines what reaches your consciousness. Understanding these rules allows you to play game more effectively instead of being played by it.

Strategic media consumption is competitive advantage. While others consume randomly, you consume deliberately. While others are programmed accidentally, you program yourself intentionally. While others wonder why they think certain things, you know exactly why and can change it.

These are the rules. Learn them. Use them. Most humans do not know media shapes their reality this fundamentally. You do now. This is your advantage. Apply it before algorithm applies itself to you.

Game has rules. You now know them. Most humans do not. Your odds of winning just improved significantly.