The Currency of the Attentional Economy: The Uses and Abuses of Attention in Our World

Abstract

We live in an attention economy [1]-[3]. People vie for the attention of allies, customers, followers, and mates [4] with advertisements, memes, and websites acting as proxies [5]. This truth defines the digital age. As Jeff Bezos noted in 1997, 'capturing mindshare on the Internet is extremely difficult... Attention is the scarce commodity of the late 20th century' [6]. Like any resource, attention can be monetized. For instance, a single product placement can net a social influencer with 100,000 followers 5,000 [8], [9]. Similarly, ads can be promoted on search engines and social media, with Google estimating that companies receive 2 for every dollar spent promoting an ad [7].