&gt; As much as I dislike some of the current trends (and I do digital media for a living mind you), I do have to point out that this stuff wouldn&#x27;t be done if it didn&#x27;t work.<p>&gt; Ultimately this implies that there are enough people out there who engage with or...dare I say...want...the bullshit,<p>I don&#x27;t think that&#x27;s necessarily true. Just because deception is effective doesn&#x27;t mean people want to be deceived. Just because alcoholism is &quot;effective&quot; in getting people to drink doesn&#x27;t mean people want alcoholism. (A weird analogy, I know, but it logically parallels your conclusion, to an admitted extreme.)