Nothing Ever Happens Attention Trap

A social‑media era dynamic where significant political events and crises generate intense short bursts of coverage but fail to remain in the public or institutional spotlight long enough to produce accountability or change. The trap creates perverse incentives for actors to treat symbolic performance as sufficient and for audiences to default back to entertainment or outrage recycling. — If true, this undermines democratic accountability, makes policy change less likely after crises, and alters how politicians perform and prioritize actions.