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My Mind is For Sale: The Attention Economy and Necessary Reforms

-- By ShahabPournaghshband - 05 Jan 2022

My cognitive abilities are decaying, and I feel as if I am helplessly watching it happen. As I leave my apartment, I check my phone. As I hop on the train, I check my phone. Before I enter class, I check my phone. Hundreds of times a day. Just to brainlessly scroll through Instagram or Twitter, receiving a hit of dopamine from posts that add no healthy value to my life. I am fortunate enough to be aware of the negative effects social media and mobile devices are having on my brain; so many people, many of them “digital natives” born into this age of technology, will never emerge from this endless absorption. Smartphones have brought on addiction, terrible attention spans, insomnia, and numerous mental health issues. It will be a worthwhile investment to learn how to free ourselves from these chains.

The Degradation of the Human Brain

All of these technology companies are competing for our attention–for our willingness to stare aimlessly and repetitively at their digital products. James Williams, a former Googler and an expert on the digital world’s effects on the human brain, calls this the “attention economy.” When our attention and time create valuable data and advertising revenue, it becomes no surprise that the success of a digital company is measured on its addictiveness. This is no secret; just look at Nir Eyal’s national bestseller, Hooked: How to Build Habit Forming Products, which has been called a “must-read for everyone who cares about driving customer engagement.” Netflix CEO Reed Hastings also stated that in addition to Snapchat, he views sleep as one of his main competitors. This culture has changed the way we think and behave, and it calls for a hard look at how we can regain our freedom of attention.

Twitter and Instagram, however, are not harmful per se. Twitter offers access to independent journalism from any corner of the world, and Instagram allows us to connect with family and friends in a convenient manner. But these digital companies have plagued us with a desire to constantly be behind a screen, occupying ourselves with the petty distractions that steer us away from real-life interests like reading books, having uninterrupted conversations, or, frankly, doing anything else that requires a substantial commitment of attention. If we cannot pay attention, we cannot think and form ideas. We cannot move forward.

Change Needs to Come

What We Can Do as Individuals

Reform is necessary on two fronts: on an individual basis and on a systemic basis. It is feasible to build healthy habits and set appropriate limitations on our technology use. Turning off notifications, for example, is a good place to start. My iPhone tells me that I received an average of 540 notifications per day last week, with a high of 1,000 on one day. Smartphones also allow us to place time limits on our screen time. Placing restrictions on this constant nagging will in turn limit the time we spend on our phones. I have also found that focusing on exercise and a healthier diet improve willpower, cognition, and general well-being, reducing the urge to constantly check my phone. Finally, increasing awareness of the bind that has constricted us helps us understand the ways in which our addictions are formed. Realizing that Instagram “likes” reel us in, or how algorithms on TikTok? show us content elicits strong emotional reactions, allows us to act consciously to avoid falling into these traps. This, of course, requires active steps and dedication to better understand these mechanisms.

Institutional Change

In an ideal world, we are perfect in setting boundaries, accessing our smartphones only for the pursuit of knowledge or for healthy connection. But the belief that every person suffering from a serious screen-time addiction can delete applications from their phone, or merely “leave their phone at home,” and be cured, is impractical. Both Williams and I agree that “individual abstinence” is not “sustainable, and it doesn’t address the systemic issues” that have led us to this point. Abstinence from smartphones and social media will not be adopted en masse, especially not by the generation that was born into this lifestyle. Thus, in addition to the steps we can take as individuals to curb our attention disorders, institutional reform is necessary. Meta, Apple, and Google must better look after the public interest. Or at least be forced to.

We must hold technology companies responsible. This requires greater public awareness of the attention economy and its consequences on the human mind. Pressuring these companies to address the harms they have created requires collective action, which is possible through widespread education. If Chevron has come to announce its commitment to clean energy, technology companies can come to announce their commitments to building healthier products. While widespread education can lead to systemic reform, so can regulation. Business models can be regulated through anti-surveillance statutes that can have the effect of limiting advertisement targeting. Users can also be notified of the time they spend on different applications. Tax law, too, may be useful–if technology companies can no longer deduct their advertising expenses, the business models of many of these companies must adapt to become profitable by other means. Antitrust and privacy regulation that has for so long threatened the Big Tech companies would also be an effective way to decrease the impact these companies have on our everyday lives. These methods can limit the exploitative practices that have led us to the pits of the attention economy.

Conclusion

The attention economy has been a disaster for the human race. Our lives are what we pay attention to, and, unfortunately, we no longer have complete control over where our attention is paid. Turning people into phone-addicted zombies may be unethical, but it is also highly profitable and legal. Reform must therefore come not only from ourselves and by limiting our addictions through awareness and healthier life decisions, but also through widespread education and regulation.

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