The Attention Economy What is the attention economy? A business - - PDF document

The Attention Economy

 What is the attention economy? A business model where you (as the company) want to hold the user’s attention as much as possible. Attention is treat like a scarce resource  What are ethical issues that have emerged with the attention economy?

• Data privacy (for later)
• What happens to users well-being? How addictive is it?
• Truth of websites
• Targeting increasingly younger kids?
• Shorter attention spans for kids and adults

 What are Tech hijacks that the attention economy uses to hijack users’ minds?

• Forced navigation:
• Forcing users to see certain content. Not unlike

seeing ads on tv

• Slot machine / bottomless bowls / instant gratification
• Addiction to getting more of something e.g. likes,

information

• False naming
• Deceptive practices to get people to click on links
• Targeted ads
• Targets compulsive buyers and overly susceptible

population

• Can’t opt out
• Diversify ads to pretend like there is more out

there

• Storage of private information

• False sponsorship; affiliated links; anyone can pay

for ads to show up on Facebook, which can deceive the general public

• Targets extreme views and extreme views get

more extreme

• Fear of missing out
• People feel obligated to have social media
• Increase in depression and suicide in young

people

• Fear of commitment just in case something else

better comes along

• Only seeing the “highlights” or a fake sense of

missing out

• Social reciprocity
• Feedback loop and addiction
• Creates a lot of doubt and unclear who is really

supporting you

• If you control the menu, you control the choices
• Robocalls
• Spoofing numbers

 If you know your mind is being hijacked, why are you still using these technologies?

• People know they are addicted but that’s the nature of

addiction

• It’s convenient and sometimes necessary
• Be aware of where your attention is being spent