Alice eventually woke up. She returned to the riverbank, her sister’s hand on her head, the real world rushing back in. She was changed by her journey, but she did not stay underground.
Consider YouTube’s infamous "Alt-Right Pipeline" or the "Slope of Enchantment." A young person clicks a video game review. The algorithm suggests a critical analysis video. That leads to a political rant. That leads to a radicalized forum. The algorithm does not care about truth or lies; it cares about engagement. The most effective rabbit holes are not smooth—they are sticky. They exploit emotional triggers: outrage, nostalgia, fear, and curiosity gaps (the "clickbait" headline). rabbit hole
The phrase comes from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865), when Alice follows the White Rabbit down a burrow and tumbles into a bizarre, unpredictable world. Alice eventually woke up