The Death of Free Will: How Web3’s Incentives Are Reprogramming Us
Back in the day, we scrolled through the internet aimlessly, clicking on things because we were curious. We liked posts because we actually liked them. We read articles because we wanted to, not because they were engineered to keep us hooked. Then, a few greedy tech companies realized that our behavior is programmable.
It seemed innocent at first. A notification here. A dopamine hit there. Then social media turned into an engagement battlefield, and suddenly, Web2 became a giant experiment in algorithmic persuasion. You and I were turned into data points to engineer our behavior. You know—the trillion-dollar social media game…
Is Web3 making things better, or is it just turning every action into a transaction? Think about what happens to us in this system:
- Want to post something? Earn a token.
- Want to like something? Get rewarded.
- Want to participate in a community? Stake some crypto first.
At first, I believed it was great to be rewarded for my time in the Web3 system. But I think we need to question: Are we still making choices, or are we just responding to financial stimuli?
Let’s remember why tech companies love gamification—it’s to shape our behavior. We like to believe we’re in control of our actions, but when everything is turned into a game, it taps into something deep in our brains.
It’s frankly frightening. Just look at how we keep checking our phones for that reward. “Maybe this time I’ll get likes, engagement, or even tokens!”
Then there’s FOMO. “Everyone is in the game, and I don’t want to be left out.”
And our cognitive biases? Even worse. Take the sunk cost fallacy—a dangerous mental trap that keeps us chasing likes, followers, or tokens simply because we’ve already invested time and effort, even when it’s unhealthy. It controls our behavior by making us value past effort over our well-being.
We see this same phenomenon in investing in cryptocurrencies or collecting engagement. You already bought in, so you keep playing—even when it stops being smart.
On a societal level, what happens in a fully tokenized economy, where every social interaction has a financial consequence (tied to our crypto wallets)? At what point are we still living real lives, and at what point are we just responding to financial carrots being dangled in front of us?
Look, incentives aren’t inherently bad. They drive innovation. They motivate us. Cool. But at some point, we have to ask: Are we designing systems that serve people, or just ones that extract maximum engagement and financial commitment?
Because we want to create a world where we actually want to be—not one where we feel like we have to be.
The Human Web should be the cure to Web2’s manipulation—not just an upgraded, financialized version of it.
But hey, what do I know? I’m just a like junkie like the rest of us. Please hit the like button.