The Cassandra of the Internet Age

Sorry, I know it's behind the NYT paywall, but if you have a subscription (or do they do freebies) it might be worth it.

Here's a snippet to give you a taste:

quote:

These days, the term [the attention economy] is a catch-all for the internet and the broader landscape of information and entertainment. Advertising is part of the attention economy. So are journalism and politics and the streaming business and all the social media platforms. But for Mr. Goldhaber, the term was a bit less theoretical: Every single action we take — calling our grandparents, cleaning up the kitchen or, today, scrolling through our phones — is a transaction. We are taking what precious little attention we have and diverting it toward something. This is a zero-sum proposition, he realized. When you pay attention to one thing, you ignore something else.

The idea changed the way he saw the entire world, and it unsettled him deeply.

That's a great article.

Decades ago a friend of mine who teaches marketing at HBS told me that there are people whose sole job it is to sell me stuff. I told him I could resist and he said "you have no idea".....

Yep. I felt like it was a big part of my job as a parent to educate my kids on how to at least recognize blatant attempts at parting them from their hard-earned allowance. The concept of how much is enough and do you really need it.... sometimes it appears to have stuck, other times not so much.

On a related note....

quote:

Why and How We Consume the News

https://www.smerconish.com/exc...-we-consume-the-news

I loved that article when I first read it - forwarded it to both my sons.

"Paying attention" certainly does involve parting with something of great value.

I have been paying attention to how and where I pay attention for some time now. I'm often unsuccessful in using my attention as I intend, but at least I am getting better at setting my intentions and following through on them. The phone and the tablet live in the laundry room, where they get charged. I don't take them into the bedroom or the office. My work station is kept offline.

I also refuse to engage in the demands of the attention economy. I refuse to buy in to the idea that an author must build an online platform. This is not how I want to use my energy or attention. I refuse to seek or demand attention. People don't need to know about my day to day life or my projects. I don't need to waste time energy or attention trying to persuade others that I'm interesting, or of my value.

Because that is what this is all about, isn't it? Attention = worth. By accepting oneself exactly as one is and by believing in one's own worth, one subverts the attention economy. It becomes null and void.

If everyone had genuine self esteem, the attention economy would collapse.