THE HIDDEN BATTLE FOR YOUR ATTENTION….
ENTRY 01
Take a moment to bring attention to your breath. Notice the fresh air filling your lungs with every inhale, and the compression of your torso on each exhale. This mechanism is fundamental to the survival of the human body - yet it goes on subconsciously in the background with not much inkling of a thought.
Attention can be defined as the action of taking notice of someone or something i.e. awareness. A more complex understanding could be that it is the act of focusing your mental cognition (some would say energy) in a particular direction; this could be conscious or unconscious. Notice that during meditation, you will often find your mind bouncing between different lines of thought. My mind wanders like the bison on the African Savanah – a thought I have had in moments past…
If attention is something that is perpetually practised at any given moment, the importance of the directionality cannot be understated. Essentially, where you direct your energy will determine the effective outcome of your reality. Attention defines your experience. Thus, would you say something as pivotal as attention can be treated with a degree of nonchalance?
Well, this is the peculiar position the current (younger) generations find themselves within. We seem to have signed a contract many, if not most, may not even be consciously aware of. That being: trading our time and attention for essentially mindless consumption of algorithmic content. The algorithms have advanced to such a degree that I would argue that younger generations have not even been honestly prepared to armour themselves against this sophistication of cognitive theft (although is it really stealing if the user has not read the fine print?…).
It has been said that if a product is free, you are the product. Attention has become the most valuable asset – one for which tech conglomerates, institutions and stakeholders are in an intense battle. To give an example of the magnitude of the data economy (which is driven by increasing users’ time spent with their app/product), let’s look at the market cap of the top ten companies of the last 20 years. Starting in 2000, of the top ten companies with the highest market capitalisation, only three tech companies held spots – Microsoft being number one at that time [1]. In 2024, Microsoft still holds top spot; but now seven of the top ten are tech related companies – including the likes of Apple, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, and Meta (Facebook, Instagram) – each respectively valued at over 1 trillion [2]. These companies’ objective is to maximise engagement to increase advertising revenue. Or to convince you that their product will enhance your life dramatically. There is a lot of money to be made from monetising your attention.
This limbic hijacking is by design. On social media, the algorithm selects for the content that correlates with higher engagement – provocative media that triggers emotional responses. Propaganda on all sides of the aisle. Tragedy, war, politics, poverty, sports, celebrities, drama. Google dictates what to search for, which items to buy, what videos to watch. New tech is advertised to ‘revolutionise’ the way you live your life. A touch screen multipurpose handheld minicomputer, a videogame console which simulates complex maps and narratives, a large LED panel in the living room to relieve yourself from your (somewhat) depressing reality and immerse yourself into other worlds, a headset that overlays physical reality with augmented stimuli. You could be forgiven into thinking it’s getting rather dystopian.
Let’s explore some scary realities affecting the West in 2024. If you have spared a moment to contemplate these issues, these may strike as no surprise. The scientific literature overwhelmingly agrees that greater time spent on our devices increases the risk of anxiety, depression, and other forms of mental illnesses [3][4][5]. After 1 hr/day of use, more hours of daily screen time were associated with lower psychological well-being, including less curiosity, lower self-control, more distractibility, more difficulty making friends, less emotional stability, being more difficult to care for, and inability to finish tasks [3]. Among 14- to 17-year-olds, high users of screens (7+ hr/day vs. low users of 1 hr/day) were more than twice as likely to ever have been diagnosed with depression [3]. This does not begin to scratch the surface of the underlying psychological consequences facing these younger generations.
iGen and Gen Z (those born after 1995) are on pace to spend up to 93% of their free time looking at screens [6]. Time spent on devices is generally taken up through services of passive consumption. That is to say – services which mindlessly squander your time. This contrasts with spending time outside or interacting with others in the physical world – practices which probably get a good eye roll from the adolescents of our time. Certainly, no time for that when you must keep up with the current dances on TikTok. Or posting an Instagram story to the world every other hour to ensure everyone can see how interesting your lifestyle must be. Of course, only after you Snapchat streak your group of fringe friends a selfie on the toilet seat. Bear in mind, artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality have only just started infiltrating the modern lifestyle which are both potentially on pace to increase time connected to the digital world – if that is even possible…
Now this is not all doom and gloom. Awareness is the first step in fighting back against the algorithmic barrage. One can implement certain strategies to combat our tendency to scroll or give away our precious time so easily. Key word is intentionality. If you can find a way to take a step back and get a better understanding on why you use certain platforms/products – this will clarify the importance of its existence in your life. You want to use the service, not allow the service to use you. Now this could mean you have a ‘digital detox’ from a product or service. You may notice addictive tendencies/behaviours surrounding the tech you would not otherwise have been able to see. Or simply setting boundaries and blocking out specific times you can interact with the tech.
Once you have developed an understanding of the purpose (or lack thereof) that a service/product has within the confines of your life, you must build solid habits to ensure you do not just simply get sucked back into the ‘death scroll’. This could include deleting apps, setting app time constraints, deactivating misaligned accounts, leaving your device/s in other rooms, only (binge) watching a show if in the company of friends, finding new hobbies in the real world, finding alternative methods of communication or networking tools, interacting with your fellow human beings again like they are not just the backdrop of your busy day, lifting your gaze and appreciating the awe of the world – drink it in, savour raw reality.
If your mind is one of your greatest assets, full of beautiful ideas – to unlock your unique ingenuity means taking back sovereignty of your time. Invest your attention accordingly.
1. Truman, D. (2022). Animation: The Largest Public companies by Market Cap (2000-2022).https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/largest-companies-from-2000-to-2022/
2. Daly, L. (2024). The Largest Companies by Market Cap in 2024. https://www.fool.com/research/largest-companies-by-market-cap/
3. Twenge, J.M. Campbell, W.K. (2018). Associations between screentime and lower psychological well-being among children and adolescents: Evidence from a population-based study. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6214874/
4. Gardner, C. (2023). Study probes connection between excessive screen media activity and mental health problems in youth. https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/yale-study-probes-connection-between-excessive-screen-media-activity-and-mental-health-problems-in-youth/
5. Khan, A. Lee, E. Rosenbaum, S. Khan, S.R. Tremblay, M.S. (2021). Dose-dependant and joint associations between screentime, physical activity, and mental wellbeing in adolescents: an international observational study. The Lancet: Child and Adolescent Health. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(21)00200-5/abstract
6. Ambrosi, D. (2023). The Battle for your Time: Exposing the hidden costs of social media. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/dino_ambrosi_the_battle_for_your_time_exposing_the_hidden_costs_of_social_media/transcript