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Attention didn’t collapse. It was stolen (2022)

theguardian.com

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Re: Attention didn’t collapse. It was stolen (2022)

#41

Post by Terr_ »

Gunax wrote: post #11

I think it's a thoughtful tale, but I really cannot get behind the premise. Was our attention really stolen ? Is this a literal claim, or just hyperbole? It's a vice of the modern world. We have made food that tastes wo good, you want to eat forever. We have drugs which give you euphoria (for a time). And, we have entertainment that is far better than before. Well, for one I don't think there is anything particularly…

> Was our attention really stolen? Is this a literal claim, or just hyperbole?

It's obviously figurative... unless you believe Professor MindMiner has built a machine to *schlorp* liquidified Attention out of unsuspecting victims into his own swollen and increasingly-monomaniacal cranium.

However it's much shorter than "impaired or damaged without our informed consent by outside forces because it profits them to do so."

Re: Attention didn’t collapse. It was stolen (2022)

#42

Post by Zetice »

guntars wrote: post #37

It sounds like her son has ADHD (and her too likely as it’s mostly genetic), just like me and millions of others. No, it’s not an epidemic. Social media and phones in general are the perfect “solution” for brains that are in a constant craving for stimulation. I don’t want to get into the whole personal responsibility vs evil companies dichotomy, but something that has helped me tremendously is wasting time on my own…

From a practical perspective it’s definitely your problem if you need a car…

Re: Attention didn’t collapse. It was stolen (2022)

#43

Post by bcrosby95 »

smogcutter wrote: post #30
convolvatron wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

which is all fine, desirable, and ultimately necessary. that doesn't mean that they make good arguments that help us try to decide what to do, convince other people, or even underscore the potential value of those opinions

HN: what, no research? Also HN: social science research is garbage and everyone who practices it is somewhere on a spectrum between delusion and fraud

It's almost as if HN isn't a monoculture.

Re: Attention didn’t collapse. It was stolen (2022)

#44

Post by [deleted] »

Aurornis wrote: post #23

All of these supposed revelations that companies try to make products that people will use were supposed to empower people to break free from these addictions Yet anecdotally, these narrative seem to give people more excuses to engage further with their addictions of choice. I’ve heard so many variations of “It’s not my fault I use so much (Facebook|TikTok|Reddit), don’t you know they have people employed to make the…

[deleted]

Re: Attention didn’t collapse. It was stolen (2022)

#45

Post by cptroot »

apsurd wrote: post #31
thombles wrote: post #22

Stolen Focus is an interesting book and worth your time, but it's absolutely set on making the case that governments need to intervene on social media and I don't think it did it very well. I wrote a longish review digging into why back in June but it will probably only make complete sense if you've read the book. https://thomask.sdf.org/blog/2023/06/08/book-review-stolen-f...

Same with this article it seems. It's thought provoking. Worth the read. But the conclusion is rather underwhelming: it's an environment & societal problem. Also Big-Co is evil. That's not wrong per-say, but gee-whiz looks like we gotta add it to the growing list of how everything's terrible. The message is good just missed an opportunity to carry over the energy into action. I'll try: since we can't change society s…

One point that the article did land for me was the potential for individual change to be unhelpful. No-phone dinners only work if there isn't any sense of anxiety about not having your phone at dinner. That anxiety only goes away if you have an environment that allows you to unplug. Systemic changes like requiring workplaces to allow employees to have "off times" seem necessary to remove some of the baseline anxieties many of us have.

If you want to talk about kids specifically, then you'd need some way to alter the anxieties that affect them the most. Anecdotally, it seems like kids (teens especially) end up with lots of FOMO and loneliness. The only structural reforms I've seen suggested as solutions to those were much more drastic than the ones proposed for adults, like preventing teenagers from using social media at all.

Re: Attention didn’t collapse. It was stolen (2022)

#47

Post by kwanbix »

What would companies do when the people they hire cannot perform because of this addiction? What would companies do when people cannot earn money to pay for their services because of the addiction? What would they do when people do not have money to buy their phones? This is like drugs all over again. And companies, such as Facebook, Google, Snapchat, etc., do not care at all. Will we transition to a world of very short attention span and that would be the new normal?

Re: Attention didn’t collapse. It was stolen (2022)

#48

Post by WalterBright »

Aurornis wrote: post #23

All of these supposed revelations that companies try to make products that people will use were supposed to empower people to break free from these addictions Yet anecdotally, these narrative seem to give people more excuses to engage further with their addictions of choice. I’ve heard so many variations of “It’s not my fault I use so much (Facebook|TikTok|Reddit), don’t you know they have people employed to make the…

In our modern society, everyone is a victim and it's always someone else's fault. My opinion that people in America do have choices and their lives are the sum of those choices inevitably elicits a lot of rather angry responses.

All the people I've gotten to know over the years are all where they are as a result of their choices.

The interesting thing about deciding to own your choices is it's empowering - you can choose to change your life. The victims, however, have unpowered themselves, and thus remain forever hapless victims.

For example:

1. Live in a bad location? Move

2. Uneducated? Education is free over the internet

3. Weak? Exercise

4. Overweight? Eat less

5. Drug addicted? Treatment is available

6. Criminal record? Start your own business

7. Unhappy with your finances? Learn how to invest

8. Your friends drag you down? Discard them

9. Hate your boss? Quit and get another job

And so on. None of this is easy. It will take effort. It's up to you.

Re: Attention didn’t collapse. It was stolen (2022)

#50

Post by johnea »

CamelCaseName wrote: post #32

-

> YouTube is essentially unavoidable in day to day life

This statement is wholly and thoroughly wrong. Just plain incorrect.

youboob is 100% avoidable and completely unnecessary.

But I chose to respond to this post for a specific reason: it's a perfect example of the loss of perspective at the root of the "loss of attention" phenomenon.

One can only believe youboob is necessary in a very carefully crafted artificial environment.

This is why the #1 advice for everyone is: Go Outside! Put your phone down!

The mental state of constant immersion has crippled your world view.

You can very easily enjoy your day without ever engaging w/ the goggle corps..

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