Feeling drained by social media and AI? The attention economy's toll gets a closer look

Many people know the experience: closing an app and realizing 20 or 40 minutes, even an hour, vanished with no idea where the time went. Advocates calling attention to the problem say it is a growing mental health concern, and many caught in it do not realize what is happening.

The design is deliberate: social platforms are engineered to capture attention and shape behavior through endless scrolling, and the rapid rise of AI-generated content is intensifying the effect. During Mental Health Awareness Month, clinicians and digital wellbeing educators are pushing a message that awareness is the first step to taking back control.

Practical themes include recognizing the real cost of mindless scrolling, setting deliberate boundaries with feeds and AI companions, and looking to countries experimenting with healthier digital norms. The advice stops short of telling anyone to quit: for professionals who rely on social platforms for work, the goal is controlled, intentional use rather than abstinence.