The attention trap: Why social engagement does not always create fandom

Social video platforms are often portrayed as the home of modern entertainment fandom. There is no question that YouTube and TikTok have enabled audiences to deepen their relationships with entertainment IP compared to the pre-digital era. This is especially true for audiences that actively create and share content among fan communities. Yet beneath this growth in engagement sits more complicated questions: who ultimately owns the value of that attention? Is it the entertainment companies and creators producing the content or the platforms distributing it?

Navigating platform loyalty

The mechanics of social platforms are fundamentally designed around retention. Algorithmic discovery, vertical feeds, and fan tipping are all optimised to keep users inside platform ecosystems for longer. In practice, these mechanics often strengthen loyalty to the platform more than loyalty to any individual creator, franchise, or entertainment brand.

This creates a growing challenge for entertainment IP holders and creators building multi-platform audience strategies. While short-form content is highly effective at driving discovery and repeat engagement, converting those audiences into monetisable fandom is far harder. The challenge is not simply reaching audiences, but moving them towards environments where monetisation and ownership are stronger. This includes shifting audiences from short-form content into long-form viewing environments, where advertising inventory and monetisation frameworks are more lucrative. Similarly, encouraging users towards owned membership ecosystems where IP holders can secure more data and directly monetise.

Why devotional attention matters most

To better understand this shift, MIDiA has developed a framework for measuring attention and converting audiences into fans. At the centre of the model is a simple conclusion: not all attention carries equal value. The framework identifies three distinct layers of attention:

• Disposable attention: platform-driven scrolling that captures moments rather than loyalty
• Habitual attention: repeat behaviour that reinforces platform dependence over emotional connection to IP
• Devotional attention: high-commitment fandom that drives sustained engagement and monetisation

Each layer serves a role within the audience funnel, but devotional attention is where the greatest commercial value sits. It represents the strongest form of fandom because it drives repeat engagement, deeper emotional investment, and monetisable behaviours. Entertainment companies that succeed across all three layers can reposition social platforms from competitive threats into acquisition channels, using them to convert passive viewers into loyal fans and repeat revenue streams.

MrBeast and the monetisation of fragmented attention

Among the clearest examples of this strategy is MrBeast and his 50-streamer challenge in April 2026. MrBeast used a game show-style long-form format to bring audiences together from participating creators before cutting the video ahead of the finale. He then redirected viewers towards a livestream of the final act that concentrated fragmented audience attention into a single peak event. It attracted more than one million concurrent viewers. Engagement was then actively incentivised through chat participation rewards, turning it into a funnel for high-impact monetisation.

The next phase of the entertainment economy will not be defined by who captures the most attention, but by who converts attention into fandom most effectively. Social platforms excel at generating disposable and habitual attention at scale, but those forms of engagement are often structurally tied to platform retention rather than IP loyalty. The strategic opportunity for entertainment companies and creators is to use social platforms as discovery infrastructure while building pathways towards devotional attention, where monetisation, ownership, and long-term fan value are strongest.

Not a MIDiA client? To find our more about our attention framework and download the full report, Attention versus fandom | Maximising the value of video engagement, please contact enquiries@midiaresearch.com