The commodification of our attention span
The commodification of our attention span
Source: https://protesilaos.com/books/2022-06-25-knowledge-presence/
Notice that many offerings we are exposed to are free of cost. The so-called “social media” do not charge us any money for using them. They just trigger us into engaging with their platform multiple times per day under the pretext of checking the news or learning what our friends are up to.
Similarly, many of the video games we have on our computers follow a free-to-play model and expect us to achieve progress through endless hours of grinding out repetitive tasks in pursuit of some “achievement”.
Even technical websites, such as GitHub, are now introducing a gimmick of showing off tokenistic accomplishments. If they push on with that initiative, they will be incentivising us to put up a performance of gaming the system instead of focusing on the substance; a performance like that status update we make about our morning drink.
In a generic economy, all those businesses would be competing for our money, at least as a point of entry. But if they do not want to be paid for their goods and services at the outset, what could they possibly be competing for? Our attention, of course. Our attention is valuable because it is finite.
Businesses are commodifying our attention span. They want to keep us active on their platform for as long as possible. The time we spend with them is time not spent on other activities. This becomes, in itself, an exclusive domain. The dominion over our attention span, the oligopoly built on top of it, can then be monetised in various ways. As such, products are designed to be addictive, especially when they have no upfront monetary cost though not only.
It is not just digital goods that do this. Consumables, such as processed food are no different. You must have heard practically every doctor warn against the harms of junk food. Yet consumption of it remains prevalent. Why? Because it is addictive. All those intense flavours, all the additives, are part of a concerted effort to extract value from this finite resource of ours: our attention. They want us to keep coming back.
Have you ever spent the morning thinking about the meal you will have later in the day? After you consume your lunch, do you still keep it in your mind, such as by raving about how tasty it was? How would you describe this phenomenon? Is it not a means by which you lose presence? Instead of focusing on the present, you obsess about some dish in your immediate past or future.
Again, we notice how little things such as the intensity of the food’s flavour can inhibit our focus on the here and now. It is all those small things we need to account for and we must train to not give into them if we want to consistently remain present.
As everyone competes for our attention, marketers need to find ways to make their products stand out. For productivity solutions, this typically involves promises along the lines of making us a “10x” of whatever it is we are. Or they peddle something that appeals to our inability to focus over prolonged sessions, such as a shortcut to efficiency, a conduit to wisdom, and so on.
An app on its own cannot rescue us from all the distractions. We need to approach matters with sincerity, with a spirit of openness, and start doing what is necessary, mentally and physically, to gain or regain control.