the brain, psychology too

up in this noggin

Attention has become a currency. Every platform, ad, and algorithm is designed to compete for it. Not just to catch our eye, but to keep it. And they’re really, really good at it.

This loss of agency over our own attention that many of us are experiencing is not about willpower. It’s about neuroscience:

yana yuhai • How to Pay Attention Again

THIS IS AN ESSAY ABOUT CONTEMPORARY ART THAT INCLUDES NO EXAMPLES. It includes no examples because its subject – artists’ websites, their form and function, and the possibilities they hold – is prone to constant change. This text is an attempt to document a thing always fleeting – the aesthetics of the web – without fixing it, since it begins with... See more

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This difference is what the media theorist James Carey calls the ritual view versus transmission view of communication. In the ritual view, communication is an act of sharing or fellowship between people. This is reflected in how the word “communication” itself shares a root with “community” and “commonality”: the original reason for why we would... See more

against content

so scary that we have literally convoluted the idea of community and relationship these days. now when someone follows me is it because they want a follow back? because they saw a reel of mine a bit ago and think they want me to influence them? do they want to be my friend? it feels like its never that last one. or I will maybe never know because that’s not what rlly happens. its transactional now. its brand deals and likes and followers and views. what will come of this?

When something new pops up (a notification, a headline, a banner), your dopamine system lights up. And dopamine isn’t just about pleasure; it’s about anticipation . In other words, it’s the thrill of what might be next that hooks you.

yana yuhai • How to Pay Attention Again

However, high stimulation over time leads to desensitization. The more novelty you consume (think how much content you consume in just 5 mins of doomscrolling), the more you need to feel engaged. Everything else (reading a book, sitting still, writing an email) starts to feel slow, boring, uncomfortable even.

yana yuhai • How to Pay Attention Again

The brain starts defaulting to easier modes: autopilot, mindless scrolling, zoning out. Not necessarily because we’re weak or lazy; our neural pathways are simply adapting to what we repeat the most.

yana yuhai • How to Pay Attention Again

If your average daily screentime is 4-5 hours (the minimum average I see in most people around me), continuing at this rate will cost you 15 years of your life. 15 years. If it’s 5-6 hours, it’ll cost you 18 years of your life. Do I want to give away 15 years of my one life, mindlessly for nothing? That’s a definite no.

the zeitgeist is going offline

Now— I’m not alone in this. We’re in the midst of a significant cultural shift among Gen Z and young Millennials especially, where digital dopamine culture is being examined under a microscope and we are growing reasonably tired of the current attention economy

the zeitgeist is going offline

we are not the problem, we are probably the solution. gen z is seeing the flaws and we are changing ourselves one by one to stop our brains from turning to mush. its the older generation who is giving in, letting it manipulate them, and passing it down to the now brain rotten younger generation of children

nd yet . At the end of the day, attention is still ours. No matter how many forces try to seize it, shape it, or sell it - our attention begins and ends with us. We are the only ones who can reclaim it. That’s our responsibility. And that’s also our power.