attention economy
Competing for eyeballs
The attention economy is the competitive marketplace for human focus, treating attention as a scarce resource that businesses, media, and platforms vie to capture and monetize.
The concept recognizes that in an information-rich world, the limiting factor isn't content but the finite capacity of people to consume it.
Social media algorithms are optimized for the attention economy.
The term often carries critical connotations, implying manipulation or exploitation of psychological vulnerabilities to harvest engagement.
- clicksBrief sharp sounds
- scrollingMoving display content vertically
- infinite scrollContinuously loading content mechanism
- viralSpreading quickly online
- engagementCommitment to wed or attend
going viral · dopamine · brain hacking · notifications · likes · algorithms · distraction · eyeballs · feeds · influencers · monetization · screentime · clickbait · rage bait · followers · social media · trending · addictive
- Modern Trendscancel culture, doom scrolling, doomscrolling, echo chambers, fake news
- tech ethicsAI ethics, AI bias, data privacy, deepfakes, digital rights
- media theoryagenda setting, gatekeeping, framing, hypodermic needle, magic bullet
- digital overloadspam, notifications, alerts, pop-ups, screen time
- persuasionpersuade, persuasion, persuasive, convince, convincing
- digital economye-commerce, digital payments, online shopping, digital marketplace, digital markets
attention economyknowledge economy
System valuing expertise over manufacturing
industrial capitalism · agrarian economy · service economy · gift economy · barter economy
attention, economy, attend, attends, attended, attending, attendant, attendants, attendee