12 Mar Attention Economy & Attention Syndrome
Lately, my better half has been accusing me of suffering from “Imposter Syndrome”. Can you believe that? Me, an Imposter! I immediately defended myself, stating that I do not have such a condition. To be honest, I didn’t even know what it meant. I thought it was something like “Imposing Yourself on others”, which, let’s be honest, I kinda do all the time, but that’s just because I stand up for what I believe in, but that hasn’t reached the level of a syndrome.
Anyway, I googled it and found out that it’s actually a psychological thing where people doubt their own abilities and live in fear of being exposed as a fraud. Despite external evidence of their competence, individuals with Imposter Syndrome believe that they are not worthy of their achievements, and attribute their success to luck or other external factors rather than their own abilities. What kind of nonsense is that? I don’t doubt myself, I’m just humble, you know.
After finding out what “Imposter Syndrome” actually meant, I returned to my wife to restart the dialogue. She was more than ready for it, as usual. We discussed, debated and argued for half an hour, and then my better half spilled the beans. She believes that I have a few reasonable ideas, but I think they’re not good enough and therefore, I don’t share them with others. I was happy that my wife realised that my ideas were worth something, but I didn’t agree with her that I suffered from “Imposter Syndrome”. I told her I have diagnosed myself as suffering from “Attention Syndrome”.
She was flummoxed by the new fancy terminology and asked, “Attention Syndrome! What’s that?” I confidently told her to Google it and learn one more thing! I quietly walked away from her, hoping that she would give up, but she’s a fighter. She screamed from behind, “Mr. Imposter Syndrome, there is no recognised psychological condition called “Attention Syndrome”. Could you please provide more information or clarify your position!”
No self-respecting man could let that pass, so I am writing this blog to take up the challenge and define “Attention Syndrome”.
Our ‘attention’ is a precious resource that we possess. Technically we may define ‘Attention’ as the ability to focus our awareness on a particular object or stimuli while ignoring others. The rise of attention seeking behaviour is not a new phenomenon. Throughout history, people have used various means to gain attention and recognition from others. However, with the advent of social media, attention-seeking behaviour has been taken to the last man standing and has become more prevalent and accessible to an audience beyond the fiefdoms of advertisers, marketers and creative folks.
Social media has given individuals a platform to showcase their lives, thoughts, and opinions to a global audience. This has led to a rise in attention-seeking behaviour, as people vie for likes, shares, and comments on their posts. The desire for attention has become a driving force behind social media use, with individuals spending hours curating and perfecting their online personas to gain the attention and validation of others.
This phenomenon gave rise to what is known as the ‘Attention Economy’. The attention economy is a term used to describe the marketplace where attention is bought and sold. It is the idea that attention has become a scarce resource, and that those who can capture it have a valuable commodity. I love capitalism! Without them who would have thought of such a brilliant economy requiring so little assets and almost no capex!
In the “Attention Economy”, social media platforms act as the middlemen, connecting attention-seeking individuals with advertisers who are willing to pay for access to their audience. This has led to the creation of various techniques and strategies that are aimed at getting attention on social media.
Now the question is what do most people do to get attention?
I did an exhaustive study of the various videos and posts that go viral and here is my summary about how most content-creators and marketers get ‘attention’. I have listed these in the order of complexity, which is in indirect relationship to the number of ‘attention’ a content gets on social-media. These are my personal views and backed by my own experience and research, and I take full responsibility for coining ‘Attention Syndrome’ as the psychological condition which many of us experience.
Here are the four types of people based on the way they get attention, in order of complexity and difficulty:
Type 1 – Showing One’s Assets
It seems like everyone is trying to grab attention these days, and some people will stop at nothing to get it. Whether it’s showing off their bodies, their property, their cute cat, their gourmet meal, or their luxurious vacations, they’ll do whatever it takes to make others envious. But let’s be honest, we all know what they’re really doing – they’re just trying to compensate for something else that’s lacking. Maybe it’s their personality, their intelligence, or their sense of humor. Whatever it is, they hope that by flaunting their assets, people will overlook their shortcomings. But hey, at least we get to enjoy the view, right?
Type 2 – Playing the Victim
Ah, the classic victim mentality. Everyone knows someone who’s always playing the victim card. “Oh, poor me, I had such a traumatic childhood”, or “Woe is me, my boss is always picking on me”. We get it, life is tough. But let’s be real, if you’re constantly playing the victim, you’re not doing yourself any favors. It’s time to take responsibility for your own life and stop blaming others for your problems. And who knows, maybe people will start to respect you more once you start standing up for yourself.
Type 3 – Becoming Infamous
Some people will do anything to make a name for themselves, even if it means resorting to crime, risky thrills, devilry, rudeness, profanity, or double-entendres. But what’s the point of being infamous if you can’t even show your face in public? Sure, you might get some temporary attention, but is it really worth it in the long run? Plus, you’re just making life harder for yourself in the future. Who wants to hire someone with a criminal record or a reputation for being rude and unprofessional?
P.S. – The people who resort to click-baiting are also criminals, in my very humble opinion, because they steal our time by showing us mostly useless stuff.
Type 4 – Being Excellent
Now this is the kind of attention-seeking we can get behind. Instead of resorting to cheap tactics, some people choose to excel in their craft. Whether it’s music, art, writing, or anything else, they work hard to be the best they can be. And you know what? They deserve all the attention they get. Not only are they talented, but they’re also dedicated and passionate about what they do. So let’s give a round of applause to those who choose to stand out through their hard work and talent, rather than their assets, victimhood, or infamy.
The understanding of above builds the premise on which “Attention Syndrome” can be understood.
When we have no assets to show off, our lives have been free of being victimised, and we do not have the gumption for infamy, then we have to work on the last option as the only option to get ‘attention’ and reap the benefits of the ‘Attention Economy’. “Being Excellent” is not only difficult but also scary! An easy way out of such a situation is to avoid ‘attention’ and remain out of the “Attention Economy”.
This avoidance, my dear friend, is called ‘Attention Syndrome’.
P.S.: Those of you with contacts in popular award committees, especially Nobel, “Attention Syndrome” is the idea that you need to pitch. I assume that, unlike me, you do not suffer from this syndrome and will get their ‘attention’ :).
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