Well, for (1) the poster gets engagement from low-effort posts. The end game is usually monetizing their social media presence, and though there's multiple ways

Well, for (1) the poster gets engagement from low-effort posts. The end game is usually monetizing their social media presence, and though there's multiple ways to do that, they all involve getting eyes on your page. Your (2) should be evident from the phrasing of your example: if 95% of people can't do it, people want to prove they're in the 5%. They get a few minutes' distraction, some self-satisfaction, and maybe some conversation. I'm not going to play psychologist, but that's enough for some folks. And it really only has to be some: if your post is seen 32 million people and 30 million dismiss it, you still got 2 million people to engage. (3) is, I guess, money again? Active users means SocialMediaCompany can tout the value of their platform to advertising partners. The bot problem is a good observation, though, because platforms with a reputation for bots are less valuable to advertisers who want human attention. People who act like bots are probably great for advertisers, though, so idk; maybe that's a wash.