Reclaiming Our Attention: Exercising Agency in the Age of Distraction

Further readings and reflections on understanding how to take individual and collective action in the current attention economy

Welcome to this month’s installment of Further Readings, where each month I share a list of resources and reflections through which we can go down a rabbit hole together. The main goal here is not just to provide a media guide, but to provide a starting point for the process of questioning. This week we will be diving into attentional agency.

Things To Do Instead of Doomscrolling - Halloweek

Given that there’s no media roundup this week, don’t forget to check out my weekly segment on Perfectly Imperfect where I share recommendations of things you can do instead of doomscrolling :) In this Halloween edition you’ll find books, internet archives, research prompts, movies and even rituals that I’ve been enjoying in preparation for my favorite day of the year <3

Pere Borrel del Caso. Escaping Criticism, 1875.

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The state of our attention determines our lives and in a world where our attention is the scarcest resource, so much of our existence is being dictated by the systems exploiting it in exchange for profit and control. It feels as if we are stuck in a perpetual carousel that’s going at full speed, its gravitational force leaving us paralyzed, making it impossible to get off. We are being constantly bombarded with endless stimuli, leaving us in a daze of overstimulation where we are drained of the energy needed to fully embody the wonders of the human experience.

Life is not just something that we are submitted to—as much as it feels like it is—life is largely the amalgamation of the choices that we make within our given environment. In the midst of all the noise, chaos, despair, pain, and injustice, it’s easy to forget that we have the ability to exercise our agency to do something about it. Even though there are so many things that exist outside of our control, what, where, and how we decide to direct our attention, is the fundamental fabric of our individual and collective reality.

I wholeheartedly believe that reclaiming our attention is the spark that will propel the necessary movement for systemic reform and radical change toward a better future—a future where we are in harmonious connection with ourselves, our communities, and our planet. This will most certainly not happen any time soon, so in the meantime, I invite you to join me in this journey of discovery and growth so that hopefully we can make this future come a little faster.

Below, you’ll be able to find not only a compilation of resources comprised of books, essays, videos, documentaries, and more, but you’ll come with me as I dissect them and organize them into the bigger picture that we need to turn all of this knowledge into actionable behavior. Here is a sneak peek at the table of contents so that you can decide whether or not this could be useful to you:

• Part 1

  • Foundations of Attention

  • The Psychology of Attention

  • Foundations of the Attention Economy

  • Attention as Currency

• Part 2

  • Collective Attentional Agency

  • Environmental Agency

  • Attention and Creativity

  • The Morality of Attention and the Self