Attention
Attention determines what your consciousness experiences, since you can only focus on one thing at a time. Your subjective experience follows your attention from one thing to the next. That attention is commanded by your biological drives, which determine the salience of different objects in the environment.
"This is the first, wildest, and wisest thing I know, that the soul exists, and that it is built entirely out of attention." -Mary Oliver
Attention is care, and in many languages the word has both meanings.[1] Caring for someone is often more than just paying attention, but you cannot begin to care without giving your attention.
The Attention Economy
Increasingly, attention is being commanded by the forces of capitalism which seeks to monetize it. The information and social media economy runs on attention. Time spent on the platform means money, especially when it depends on advertising. Gamified algorithms use artificial intelligence to figure out exactly what will keep your attention the longest, and eventually lead to addiction. The addicted customer is a goldmine, generating exponentially more revenue compared to casual users.
"The moment one gives close attention to any thing, even a blade of grass it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself." -Henry Miller
Several good books addressing the attention economy and the way modern media has fractured our focus have been published recently. Chris Hayes book The Siren's Call does a great job of itemizing all the ways our attention is hijacked by modern technology. Jenny Odell's How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy gives more practical advice for ways to break free from the hamster wheel of attention capitalism and hustle culture.
Attention is a Skill
Attention is a skill. Being able to focus your thoughts on a single thing for long periods is essential for completing complex tasks.The more you do long attention span things like reading books, the better your attention will be. The more you do short attention span things like social media and multitasking, the harder it is to sustain your focus. Attention is a muscle that must be regularly exercised.
The Strother School for Radical Attention is an organization that promotes attention training education and activism.
Attention Whores
Attention whoring is the practice of intentionally soliciting attention through outrage, sexuality, or other dishonest tactics. It should be taboo, and most people are turned off by it. However, that comes in the form of outrage, which keeps your attention focused on the transgressor rather than simply turning it off. Once the attention whore has monetized this outrage, they start getting attention and social status from simply being rich. IRL attention whores must develop some marketable skill to keep people's attention, but online ones can let the algorithm turn transgression into outrage into revenue streams.
Attention Music
What would people who aspire to be pop stars know about attention? A lot.