The Attention Economy
All Eyes On Me.
L. M. Chavdarov
DON’T LOOK AWAY, DEAR, VALUED, TREASURED READER. Just like all of the corporations which dominate modern Fortune 500 lists, I really, really want your attention. It’s good for a lot of things, whether you want to sell products to advertisement-overloaded consumers, or turn your zombie-like userbase into the product (and then sell more things to them). In the swirling vortex of the modern attention economy, it’s not enough to just have a product; a business must step into the arena and wrestle, often underhandedly, for every flicker of your eyeballs, and every pulse of your neurons. Dear reader, your attention is the currency of these modern times, and you’re surrounded by pickpockets. Be careful! Otherwise, we might end up where we’re heading.
Once upon a time, the term “attention span” referred to the commendable ability of a human to focus on a task without becoming distracted. Nowadays, with attention deficit disorders on the rise, it’s closely studied, and used as a warning sign of cognitive decline in younger generations. And who can blame them? These modern marvels of technology are like black holes for our attention, bending the fabric of our daily lives around their algorithms. It’s a wonder we ever manage to look up from our devices.
Make no mistake; we’re only at the very beginning of a long, horrible slippery slope of societal harm. Our corner-cafes serve up free Wi-Fi with a side of coffee. Doomscrolling, for all the jokes we hear about it, is both largely problematic, and a concerningly significant part of the human experience, nowadays. Or, consider phantom vibration syndrome; when you feel your phone buzzing in your pocket, yet there’s no notification to be found. This isn’t an elaborate prank by Apple; this is your own brain, playing tricks on you. Our minds are becoming so attuned to the beck and call of our devices that we hear them clamouring for our attention even in the rare moments they’re not. It’s a modern-day horror story, where we’re tormented by the ghost of notifications past. If that’s what we’re already facing, imagine the haunting potential of what’s to come. There’s a not-so-funny joke somewhere in there about being ghosted by your own sanity.
We’re a little too clever for our own good, and a lot too stupid, all at the same time. Technology is advancing at an awe-inspiring rate. Moore’s Transistor Law has held true since 1965. That’s absurd; if one only knew the truth of Moore’s Law, they’d have needed no other investment plan for the past 70 years. But what about human brains? Have we managed to bolt on integrated circuits, and advanced TPU’s?
Whilst this kind of cybernetic improvement might be possible many years down the line, until then, we’re stuck running the same hardware that people did back in the stone age, when banging rocks together was at the forefront of innovation. The result is technology usage which is looking increasingly like an addiction. The hit of dopamine from a like; the oxytocin high of reading the replies on our screens; the adrenaline rush of that challenging battle in a video game – and a plethora of other symptoms that wouldn’t look out of place in a rehab centre. We’re not adapting quick enough; we’re getting outcompeted by… ourselves.
Sure, there’s a kind of black comedy in observing the digital malaise spreading amongst us. It is funny when someone walks into a pole while texting. But it’s also horrifying in its promise to get worse. There is a pressing concern that as attention-capture algorithms get more, and more advanced, voluntarily quitting would become exactly as difficult as the big data companies have always dreamed it would be. Picture a generation alpha support group in twenty years’ time. “Hi, I’m Bob, and I’m down to 500 notifications a day from my peak of 2000.” Cue the sympathetic smiles, and supportive claps. It’s a scenario as comical as it is conceivable.
In a world where it becomes impossible for the individual to resist the digital delights of the perfected algorithm, we might need an intervention from the powers that be. In fact, the Wild West of the digital age is already on track for rude awakening as calls for oversight grow louder. The trouble is, it’s hard to say how, when a fix is as simple as finding a file on the internet.
On top of that, there’s so many positive aspects to these technologies that indiscriminate legislation is as bad of an idea as it is absurd. Should the government really be poking its fingers into your house, and deleting your Candy Crush?
Jokes aside, as we march inexorably into the future, the balance between harnessing technology’s potential, and protecting our finite cognitive resources becomes ever more precarious. We might not be able to slow the pace of technological evolution, but perhaps it’s time to make sure we have a say in the direction it’s taking us. And you don’t need to wait for the government to intervene! It’s as simple as making your own choice to stop and smell the roses from time, to time. Now, please, don’t let this article interrupt your day for too long. There’s a whole world out there, and it’s vying for your attention, too.