View counts (and similar metrics) are a trap precisely because they are correlated with the things you do want. Say you want to educate others. That's hard to measure, so instead you measure updoots and retweets. They're prominently displayed, so of course you're going to look at and consciously optimize for them.
But now you're in the trap, because you've accepted these numbers as the true proxy for influencing the world, and doing anything orthogonal to the algorithm will make number go down. In reality, you're doing what Twitter wants, not necessarily what you originally wanted.
Traps are for catching animals to eat. There’s nothing good about that for the animal. Even if you extend the analogy to the bait that got the animal in the trap, I still think it’s fundamentally different in that the outcome of these recommendation algorithms hits the spot after the fact. My Instagram Reels feeds me standup comic bits that are tailored to my taste! It’s a marvel of the modern world.
I highlight your use of true proxy as showing I failed to communicated my point. As long as you/we keep in mind that updoots and retweets are just the best we currently have and not a natural truth, we can continue to work towards a healthier alternative.
But now you're in the trap, because you've accepted these numbers as the true proxy for influencing the world, and doing anything orthogonal to the algorithm will make number go down. In reality, you're doing what Twitter wants, not necessarily what you originally wanted.