The attention trap: why scrolls are easy and loyalty is hard

Have you ever slipped into a deep scroll on social media, only to realise hours have passed in what felt like minutes? The phenomenon now has a name: doom scrolling.

This is the lived consequence of the attention economy, where our very attention has evolved into a currency. Most of what we’ve seen dissolves into nothing - faces, jokes, headlines, trends – soon swept away into the depths of irrelevancy.

The digital world is built for ease. One tap to buy. One swipe to move on. Endless streams of content engineered to demand as little thinking as possible. Yet this isn’t accidental, it’s strategic; a carefully curated dopamine loop individually personalised to keep you hooked.

Our brains are wired to prefer what psychologists call cognitive fluency: when something is easy to process, we’re more likely to enjoy it, engage with it, and say yes to it. Platforms exploit this innate wiring, and reap the reward in clicks, views, and usage.

But here’s the problem. Scrolls are easy, but loyalty is hard.

Hooks grab attention, but they don’t build loyalty

The modern hook of social media is a masterclass in psychological design.

A sudden sound. A strange visual. A bold line that stops your thumb mid-scroll. It works because it interrupts autopilot mode and triggers a reflexive “what’s that?” response.

In that sense, hooks do exactly what they’re supposed to do. They win the first second. But winning attention is not the same as earning interest, a follow. Or trust. Or memory.

A good hook might grab someone’s valuable attention for a fleeting moment, but that doesn’t mean they’ll listen, care, or remember who you were tomorrow. The metrics spike, the view registers, the dopamine hits. And then it’s over and onto the next.

When engagement costs the viewer nothing, it rarely creates anything lasting.

Why effortless experiences don’t stick

There’s a reason frictionless content feels disposable as psychology explains.

We value what we help create

The “IKEA effect” shows that people place higher value on things they’ve put effort into - even when the result is imperfect. Build the furniture yourself, and suddenly it matters more. Passive consumption is the opposite. When we don’t contribute, solve, or invest, there’s nothing for our brain to attach meaning to. We didn’t do anything - so we don’t feel anything about it.

There’s no cost to walking away

The sunk cost effect keeps us committed when we’ve already invested time, effort, or money. It’s why we sit through dreary movies at the cinema and tolerate uncomfortable purchases; even if we regret a choice, we often follow through. Social media content has no sunk cost, no psychological tie. It’s a short spike of dopamine, often a mere 15 seconds within an hour-long doom scroll.

Challenge is what makes reward satisfying

The things that stay with us are rarely the easiest. Learning a difficult song. Finishing a demanding book. Reaching the top of a long hike. Effort creates meaning. Difficulty gives the reward weight. Content that asks nothing of us may entertain briefly, but it offers no sense of progress, mastery, or achievement.

Memory needs emotional anchors

We don’t remember experiences in detail - we remember peaks and endings. The moment that moved us most, and how it all concluded. Effortless content rarely has either. No emotional high point. No satisfying resolution. With nothing to anchor to, the brain simply lets it fade.

From passing by to staying put

If you’re trying to build something that lasts - an audience, a brand, a community - the goal isn’t to eliminate friction entirely. It’s to use it intentionally.

Yes, the entry point should be easy. The front door should be open. But once someone steps inside, there needs to be something worth engaging with.

Depth. Participation. Conversation. A reason to invest time and energy.

People might arrive because of the content, but they stay because of connection. They stay when they’re invited to think, respond, contribute, and belong. When the experience asks a little more of them - and gives something meaningful back.

The real work starts after the hook.

Because attention gets you seen.
But effort is what makes you matter.

A great digital experience isn’t just something people pass through. It’s a place they return to. A space with layers to explore, ideas to wrestle with, and people to connect to.

And in a world optimised for ease, choosing to build something that requires - and rewards - engagement might be the most powerful move you can make.