The attention economy, social media addiction, & the loneliness epidemic: A content analysis of YouTube video essays

This study provides a content analysis of YouTube video essays on the attention economy, social media addiction, and the loneliness epidemic. The study analyzes the rhetoric and language of these essays to explore how the attention economy is being framed, how social media’s effects are discussed, and how essayists utilize social media to discuss social media. The sample is a selection of YouTube video essays purposively gathered by searching YouTube to identify video essays that fit the criteria. The data is then analyzed using inductive coding to explore common themes. The study provides an exploratory overview of YouTube video essay discourse on the topics and provides inspiration for further research into the topics as well as video essays as a form.