The business model is creating an atmosphere of outrage and anger.

 

JON STEWART : 

When I was a young man, 13, 14 years old, if I got a hold of the Sears catalog and there was a picture of a woman in a bra in it, I was like, “This is the most sexually exciting and arousing image.” And as you get older, that doesn’t work on you anymore. And you get to that point where you’re like, “Three people, a goat and someone singing Pavarotti.”

You have to keep stimulating people further and further to different extremities to get that same hit of dopamine. And those apps and that media, especially now, are scientifically designed purposefully — like the woman who was blowing the whistle on Facebook, like our food is designed to escape that part of your brain that says, “I should stop eating right now.” Like, this is purposeful.

The way that we are divided as people, some of it is political and weaponized by political actors, but the majority of it is capitalism. Capitalism with the idea of “How do I generate the most income out of engagement?” And it turns out fear and anger and hate and outrage pay huge.

I’m not suggesting that a monkey washing a cat isn’t a tremendous video, and that will also get clicks, but that’s not a business model. The business model is creating an atmosphere of outrage and anger. And so when you ask, does that have an effect? It absolutely does. And I think it does rewire the brains of the users.