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Attention Economy
Table of Contents
Platforms sell user attention - guard the feed pipe before optimizing the inbox.
Key Concept
- Platforms compete for your focus - engagement optimized against you still counts as optimization.
- Guard the pipe before optimizing the inbox - a tidy inbox for content you should not be consuming is still a loss.
- Signal vs Noise names what to cut; Information Diet is the weekly menu habit.
- I treat my feed like a slot machine someone else owns.
- If I am not paying, I am the product - the feed sells my attention, not the article.
- Platforms compete for your focus - I treat the feed like a slot machine someone else owns.
Level 1 - Recognize
The attention economy is platforms competing for user focus - engagement is optimized even when it works against you.
Level 2 - Explain
Like autoplay asking for the next video - someone profits from your time even when you feel tired; free games flash prizes to keep you longer.
Level 3 - Use
Turn off push alerts before installing another focus app - guard the feed pipe before optimizing the inbox.
Level 4 - Connect
Free access trades money for attention and data - a tidy inbox cannot fix a feed designed to keep you engaged with low-value content.
Level 5 - Create
Build an Information Diet that removes one engagement hook, names the signal worth keeping, and reviews the feed before adding another focus tool.
Examples
- Glad I turned off push alerts before trying a new focus app - the pipe was the leak.
- My kid's group chat pinged through homework; airplane mode for forty minutes beat another planner.
Note Relationships
| Relationship | Wikilink | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| contradicts | Digital Serendipity | when the opposite frame fits better |
| extends | Digital Minimalism | Cut tools before feeds eat the rest of your day |
| extends | Information Diet | Platforms compete for attention - diet is the counter-move |
| extends | Renewed Mind | What fights for mind-share before Scripture gets a turn |
| extends | Signal vs Noise | Platforms sell noise - you guard signal |
