Just found out that public shaming tweets actually have a 90% drop in engagement after 48 hours

I was reading a study from some media analytics firm about cancel culture cycles and saw that most viral call-out posts lose almost all their steam two days after they peak. Made me wonder if people are actually paying attention or just hopping on the bandwagon for a quick dopamine hit. Has anyone else noticed how fast these things fizzle out once the crowd moves on?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamie8041mo agoMost Upvoted

Saw a similar breakdown from a digital culture newsletter that said these mobs lose steam because everyone's just waiting for the NEXT outrage cycle to start. It's like people only care about the drama while it's fresh and trending.

michael_green441mo ago

Is there a name for the people who start these things just for the attention?

ray_williams1mo ago

The real problem isn't just the short attention span. It's that these mobs don't actually want to solve anything. If they got what they said they wanted they'd have to find something else to do with their time. The outrage IS the product. The rush of being part of something bigger than yourself for 48 hours. Once the high wears off everyone wanders off to find the next fix. Nobody sticks around to clean up the mess they made.