What is Attention?
Years ago at an Apple conference in LA I heard for the first time the boiled-down version of how the attention economy works. A banner-ad company was talking about ‘monetizing the eyeballs’ and I pictured a big burlap sack full of eyeballs being exchanged for cash. Not exactly how it works but it is also not far off. Giving our time and focus to something has always been described as ‘paying’ attention. If focussing on things is how we invest in certain outcomes and our focus is limited in the sense that it can only be applied to one thing or scenario at a time, we can see how it would be viewed as at least a resource.
It’s tempting to go further and consider attention as being a commodity because it has value and can be bought or sold. What is it about attention that makes it so in demand? Where attention goes, resources often follow. In babies neural pathways are stimulated and new connections are formed when they receive attention. Without attention infants can suffer what is termed a ‘Failure to Thrive’ ( which can be much more disturbing than it sounds ). Attention opens the door to what might come next, which could be a spoonful of food, the purchase of a new iPhone, or support for a political cause.
Following from this it’s easy to understand why we get a boost of feel-good brain chemicals when our Instagram photo gets a ton of likes, or why people get a rush from showing up on the Jumbotron at an event. We are receiving the attention of all those people - surely great things will follow ( or not ). It also might explain why people get so nervous when the camera and sound are rolling as compared to the minute before - recording brings with it an unlimited possible future audience and people seem to sense that in the moment.
If we go back to the initial form of attention we received when we were infants, that eye contact and touch was a signal that we could expect sustenance and care. In a Pavlovian sense, our brain chemistry was probably trained to associate that attention with what was coming next which would explain why we are still so susceptible to attention.
It would also explain why there is such fierce competition for our attention. $6.5 million was the going rate for 30 seconds of the attention of a few million people during the 2021 Super Bowl. Opening up the possibility of their interest, money, and loyalty. With so many points at which our attention can be harnessed - the nozzle of a gas pump, YouTube videos, podcasts, gaming - brands are vying for your attention at every turn.
Having data that evaluates every interaction increases our understanding of what grabs our attention. But the real question is why do you want it and what will do you with it when you get it ? If attention is an increasingly scarce resource, we should be spending it wisely by encouraging people to focus on the people, issues, places, and ventures of the world that are in dire need of our attention. Attention is a big part of why coast + jam decided to focus on the type of messaging that we do: because we believe that by telling worthy stories in a compelling way there is an opportunity to create positive change in the world. And just a note: we don’t even see this as being an ethical position to take anymore - it’s simply a pragmatic one. Looking around at the world today this pretty obvious. That is, if of course, if you’re paying attention.
