Definition:
The economic system in which human attention is treated as a scarce and valuable resource to be captured, held, measured, and sold. Platforms and services compete not primarily for money, but for sustained engagement, which can then be monetised indirectly.
Usage Context:
Commonly referenced in discussions about social media, advertising, content platforms, notification systems, and algorithmic feeds.
Critical Note:
The attention economy reframes distraction as success. Systems are optimised not for user wellbeing, clarity, or informed choice, but for prolonged cognitive occupation. This disproportionately affects neurodivergent people, whose attentional patterns are more easily overstimulated, exploited, or pathologised within environments deliberately engineered to fragment focus.
Related Terms:
Value Extraction, Behavioural Bias Exploitation, Surveillance Capitalism, Engagement, Algorithmic Identity