Instagram exploits a preexisting human yearning instead of creating a new one

Evidence

Like all attention harvesters, Instagram has not stirred any new yearning within us, merely acted upon one already there, and facilitated its gratification to an unimaginable extent. Therein lies the real problem. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1055

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the book’s recurring thesis that attention merchants act on existing desires rather than inventing them, as established in earlier chapters on radio, television, and early advertising. — connects to: Facebook exploits the psychological needs of young people during identity formation. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1421; Generation Z’s constant social media use creates an outside-looking-in dependency on others for identity — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1425; Hyper-individualized attention ironically enslaves people to media rather than freeing them — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1139 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Facebook exploits the psychological needs of young people during identity formation. #corroborates (0.78) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1421
• Generation Z’s constant social media use creates an outside-looking-in dependency on others for identity #complicates (0.72) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1425
• Hyper-individualized attention ironically enslaves people to media rather than freeing them #corroborates (0.72) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1139