The Attention Economy
As anxiety rates continue to rise over the decades one often wonders considering the events of the past, i.e. The Great Depression, WWII, The Civil Rights Era, etc., how is it that people are more anxious than ever before?
There are some basic hypothesis out there including, the global economy, cost of living, breakdown of the family unit, general uncertainty, overconfidence and overstimulation. You may be surprised to learn that despite the constant media barrage of violence and terror, that both gun violence and terrorism in U.S. are on the decline. "Terrorism killed more Westerners in the 1970s and 1980s. Although terrorist-relared deaths are on the rise in the West, the numbers are small and globally, deaths from terrorism are on the decline" (Sanger-Katz, 2016). Gun violence has been on the decline since the 1990s. Although there has been an increase in mass shootings nationwide, fewer Americans are dying from firearm homicides (Ehrenfreund, 2015).
I am convinced American overconfidence and overstimulation are at the root cause of heightened anxiety. A wise graduate professor once told me, "You have the power to change because you have the power to choose." Well what if the power to choose has been manipulated? James Williams, an ex-Google strategist, is concerned about how the tech world is undermining our democracy on the most basic levels. He, like many of us is concerned about how we spend our time and what the quality of our relationships are. According to Williams, "The dynamics of the attention economy are structurally set up to undermine the human will" (Lewis, 2017). The vast majority of Americans wake up with their cell phones and go to sleep with their cell phones. We all share an appetite for distraction. Tristan Harris, a former design ethicist at Google, compares the modern cell phone to a slot machine. Technology affects the same neurological pathways as gambling and drug abuse. If the attention economy errodes our ability to reason, to remember, what hope is there for democracy itself?
Williams and Harris left Google around the same time. They formed an advocacy group, Time Will Spent. The group seeks to fuel public support for a change in the way big tech companies approach design. Advertising dollars rely on time spent and click-through rates. The news media works hand in hand with tech companies. We even witnessed the attention economy dynamics at play in last year's presidential election. The focus needs to be on intention, not impulse. On time well spent, not time spent.
We are loosing touch with our needs, and falling victim to our desires in this highly digital age. Generations X and Y particularly have unrealistic expectations regarding our individual competency. Three-fourths of high school students believe that they will perform in the top 20 percent (Mundell, 2013). We underestimate the value of a developed work ethic. We assume we will succeed. We invest in our passions instead of investing in opportunities. We are overconfident as a society.
When people say the problem with society these days is lax gun laws, political bias, technology, lack of affordable healthcare, etc. I wonder just how much people are paying attention to the bigger picture: the breakdown of faith, neighborhoods, family and life itself. And before you go rolling your eyes, and assuming that I am saying all this to promote some conservative agenda, stop and think about how you spend your time and what the quality of your close relationships are. Reflect on those two aspects for a few minutes...
"Watch your thoughts; they become your words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny" (Frank Outlaw).
What if you took those 10 minutes at the end of the day and simply took deep breaths, reflected, or even prayed instead of sitting on your Facebook "newsfeed?" I can tell you first hand that you will rest easier.
There are some basic hypothesis out there including, the global economy, cost of living, breakdown of the family unit, general uncertainty, overconfidence and overstimulation. You may be surprised to learn that despite the constant media barrage of violence and terror, that both gun violence and terrorism in U.S. are on the decline. "Terrorism killed more Westerners in the 1970s and 1980s. Although terrorist-relared deaths are on the rise in the West, the numbers are small and globally, deaths from terrorism are on the decline" (Sanger-Katz, 2016). Gun violence has been on the decline since the 1990s. Although there has been an increase in mass shootings nationwide, fewer Americans are dying from firearm homicides (Ehrenfreund, 2015).
I am convinced American overconfidence and overstimulation are at the root cause of heightened anxiety. A wise graduate professor once told me, "You have the power to change because you have the power to choose." Well what if the power to choose has been manipulated? James Williams, an ex-Google strategist, is concerned about how the tech world is undermining our democracy on the most basic levels. He, like many of us is concerned about how we spend our time and what the quality of our relationships are. According to Williams, "The dynamics of the attention economy are structurally set up to undermine the human will" (Lewis, 2017). The vast majority of Americans wake up with their cell phones and go to sleep with their cell phones. We all share an appetite for distraction. Tristan Harris, a former design ethicist at Google, compares the modern cell phone to a slot machine. Technology affects the same neurological pathways as gambling and drug abuse. If the attention economy errodes our ability to reason, to remember, what hope is there for democracy itself?
Williams and Harris left Google around the same time. They formed an advocacy group, Time Will Spent. The group seeks to fuel public support for a change in the way big tech companies approach design. Advertising dollars rely on time spent and click-through rates. The news media works hand in hand with tech companies. We even witnessed the attention economy dynamics at play in last year's presidential election. The focus needs to be on intention, not impulse. On time well spent, not time spent.
We are loosing touch with our needs, and falling victim to our desires in this highly digital age. Generations X and Y particularly have unrealistic expectations regarding our individual competency. Three-fourths of high school students believe that they will perform in the top 20 percent (Mundell, 2013). We underestimate the value of a developed work ethic. We assume we will succeed. We invest in our passions instead of investing in opportunities. We are overconfident as a society.
When people say the problem with society these days is lax gun laws, political bias, technology, lack of affordable healthcare, etc. I wonder just how much people are paying attention to the bigger picture: the breakdown of faith, neighborhoods, family and life itself. And before you go rolling your eyes, and assuming that I am saying all this to promote some conservative agenda, stop and think about how you spend your time and what the quality of your close relationships are. Reflect on those two aspects for a few minutes...
"Watch your thoughts; they become your words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny" (Frank Outlaw).
What if you took those 10 minutes at the end of the day and simply took deep breaths, reflected, or even prayed instead of sitting on your Facebook "newsfeed?" I can tell you first hand that you will rest easier.
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