Systemic failure: How algorithmic capitalism prioritizes engagement over mental health in global markets

Indigenous frameworks like the Andean concept of *sumak kawsay* (good living) critique the tech industry’s commodification of human attention as a violation of ecological and communal balance. The Maori principle of *kaitiakitanga* (guardianship) would demand accountability for harm caused by algorithmic systems to vulnerable populations. These perspectives are absent in legal and media framings, which treat mental health as a biomedical issue rather than a relational and ecological one.

The trial echoes historical patterns of corporate impunity, from the 19th-century opium trade to the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, where externalized harms were framed as individual failures. The 1990s 'infotainment' boom normalized the prioritization of profit over public health, laying the groundwork for today’s engagement economy. Regulatory capture by tech lobbies mirrors the FDA’s delayed response to Big Tobacco, revealing a pattern of delayed accountability for industries that monetize harm.

In China, the state’s crackdown on 'internet addiction' among youth reflects a top-down rejection of Western-style engagement capitalism, though it risks authoritarian control over digital life. African digital activists argue that 'addiction' discourses are neo-colonial tools that distract from the lack of local digital sovereignty and infrastructure. Latin American scholars highlight how platform algorithms exacerbate existing inequalities, with indigenous and Afro-descendant communities bearing disproportionate harms.

Neuroscience confirms that variable reward schedules (e.g., infinite scroll) hijack dopamine systems similarly to gambling, yet industry-funded research often downplays these findings. The lack of longitudinal studies on social media’s impact on adolescent development reflects the prioritization of short-term profit over public health evidence. Regulatory bodies like the WHO have lagged in establishing guidelines, mirroring the delayed response to tobacco and asbestos risks.

Artists like Jia Zhangke (*Ash Is Purest White*) and Boots Riley (*Sorry to Bother You*) critique the dehumanization of digital labor, framing addiction as a symptom of late-stage capitalism’s spiritual emptiness. Indigenous storytellers, such as the Māori writer Witi Ihimaera, depict digital exploitation as a violation of ancestral ties to land and community. These creative works expose the emotional and spiritual toll of algorithmic capitalism, often ignored in legal and policy discourses.

If unchecked, the engagement economy risks normalizing AI-driven psychological manipulation, with platforms using predictive analytics to preempt user resistance. A bifurcated internet may emerge, where Global North users face stricter regulations while Global South populations remain unprotected. Scenario planning suggests that without structural reform, mental health crises will escalate, particularly among youth, with intergenerational trauma compounding economic instability.

Marginalized communities—Black and Latino youth, LGBTQ+ individuals, and low-income users—are disproportionately targeted by engagement-optimized algorithms, yet their voices are excluded from legal and policy debates. Survivors of algorithmic harm, such as those profiled in the *Wall Street Journal*’s 'Facebook Files,' report systemic gaslighting by platforms denying accountability. Indigenous and disability justice activists argue that 'addiction' framings erase the structural barriers that make digital spaces unsafe for vulnerable groups.