What Is the Attention Economy?
The musician Brian Eno sounded an awful lot like Augustine of Hippo when he was recently interviewed on BBC’s Radio 6. Speaking about the “attention economy” and the fact that each of us is bombarded by an average of ten thousand ads a day, he remarked, “What is it I really like? That, to me, is the most important question you can ask in your life. It’s the sort of guiding star of what you do.” For Augustine, this question is the “guiding star” because we are defined by our affections; we are defined by what we love. More importantly, think of Jesus’s words in Matthew 6:21: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
The human heart is not easily moved to genuine love, but it is easily misled by lust. Actual love consists in the steadfast pursuit of the good of another. The remarkably unsentimental picture that Paul paints for us in I Corinthians 13 offers a portrait that’s equal parts vivid and sobering. When we consider the many voices clamoring for attention in our feeds, it’s clear that they constitute a far cry from Paul’s description. We are not being invited to be patient and kind and it’s safe to say that the online world, far from keeping no record of wrongs, is in many ways a vast collage of threats, accusations, and insults. Grace and forgiveness are often notably absent in this hostile environment.
Given these facts, the relentless pursuit of our attention definitely targets the human heart, but it’s hardly centered on love. No, instead, the attention economy runs on lust. In order to keep us captivated, however, the people vying for our attention are obliged to construct a gallery of seduction. This is the reason that most of our ads, reels, videos, and, indeed, news items are carefully crafted to be maximally addicting. We often complain about the sensationalized nature of the news. If we’re honest, though, we’ll quickly recognize that this sensationalism is the very thing we’re demanding. Obviously, the goal in all of this is usually not to promote genuine thought or concern for the wellbeing of others but to keep eyeballs on screens.
Are You Stuck in the Seduction Cycle?
With this dynamic in mind, consider what we’re calling the seduction cycle. This cycle involves three parts: gratification, distraction, and seduction. Why is this cycle so destructive? In a word, because it keeps us from the wholehearted pursuit of Christ and His kingdom. It also leads to boredom and an abiding sense of ennui.
The Danger of Choosing Instant Gratification Over Long-Term Growth
Most people don’t want to begin their day by staring at a phone. Rather, the force of habit and a dependency on the stimulation provided by the device keep us coming back. Starting with our devices, however, starts the day on a note of instant gratification. There are myriad studies that confirm the addictive effects of this habit, but for our purposes, let’s consider the benefits of long-term vs. short-term rewards. Let’s take an example from the world of literature. The more rich, dynamic, and complex a book is, the more it’s going to demand of its readers. In this sense, Henry James’s The Portrait of a Lady is not going to provide the instant gratification of a Harlequin Romance novel. But most of us will readily concede that it’s a superior story. The Harlequin Romance novel will entertain you; Portrait of a Lady can enrich you.
If we’re subsisting on a steady diet of instant gratification, we are training ourselves to pursue only short-term rewards. Practically speaking, this leads to loneliness, isolation, and addiction—all besetting problems of our cultural moment. In spiritual terms, this short circuits our efforts to cultivate genuine love of Christ and neighbor. Genuine love depends upon a steadfast pursuit of long-term well-being. From physical exercise to professional development, we recognize that major achievements always require discipline, perseverance, and self-sacrifice. We also recognize that if we care about someone, we often have to challenge them—pushing them to work harder, grow up, and abandon self-destructive habits. Instant gratification predisposes us to choose lust over love.
How Instant Gratification Traps Us in a Cycle of Distractions
One of the most incisive modern apologists is Blaise Pascal, and in his estimation, one of the biggest obstacles to the wholehearted pursuit of Christ consists in distractions. If we often begin our day by staring at a screen and starting with instant gratification, the next phase involves getting tangled up in a web of distractions. Think of the number of reels that get sent to you in a single day. With regard to many of these little skits, the problem is not that they’re amateurish, aggravating, and dull. No, the problem is that most of them are made with consummate craftsmanship. In a word, they’re too entertaining and they often lead to lots of time being wasted. We’re not arguing that all fun and relaxation need to be jettisoned from our lives. What we are saying, however, is that these many distractions can and often do rob us of our focus and intentionality with regard to our pursuit of Christ and neighbor. Beginning on a note of instant gratification leads to our entanglement in distractions, which in turn leads us to the final phase of this cycle.
How Seduction Leads Us Away from Our Devotion to Christ
If we press into the etymology of the word seduce, we find that its original connotations weren’t only sexual. Instead, the definition centered on the dereliction of duty—being persuaded to abandon one’s post. This original sense of the word brings us closer to the dynamic of this cycle with regard to the Christian life. Though the seduction taking place in our lives can certainly be of a sexual nature, the main point we wish to stress here is that the final phase of this cycle involves us being led astray from our service to Christ. In this sense, allowing a particular online influencer’s vision of earthly success to pull us away from our devotion to Jesus and His kingdom would constitute a seduction.
Breaking the Spell of Distraction by Praying the Lord’s Prayer
How do we break the powerful spell of the seduction cycle? In an age obsessed with fad diets, quick fixes, and exotic new tools and methodologies, it’s helpful to be reminded that going back to basics is usually the best maneuver. In this case, we need look no further than the Lord’s prayer:
Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.
-Matthew 6:9-13
We would like to draw your attention to three facets of this prayer that can counteract the seduction cycle—namely, praise, repentance, and surrender. Instead of beginning the day with a screen, start with a word of praise (“hallowed be your name”). Beginning with praise engenders gratitude and helps to still our hearts before the majesty of God. It also functions as a holistic alternative to the instant gratification that numbs us to God’s grace in our actual lives. How many times do we overlook God’s direct answers to prayer because our eyes are glazed over?
From praise, we move into repentance (“forgive us our debts”). Asking for forgiveness keeps us in touch with our complete dependency on our Savior. It also serves as a needed reminder of our sinful condition, prompting us to regard the shortcomings of others (and ourselves) with compassion and humility rather than pride and condemnation.
Finally, we conclude on a note of surrender to Christ (Thy will be done), entrusting our lives to Him and confessing that all things (including our lives) are in His hands. In this way, we give up the illusion of control and profess our reliance on God for our well-being. Needless to say, this is not a confession that comes naturally to us, which is why prayer is not a one-time solution but rather a way of life. The seduction cycle is indeed a formidable challenge to genuine Christian love. However, adopting the threefold strategy from the Lord’s prayer of praise, repentance, and surrender can make a real difference in sharpening our focus on Christ and our neighbor.
Photo Credit: Tim Mossholder/Unsplash
Kenneth Boa equips people to love well (being), learn well (knowing), and live well (doing). He is a writer, teacher, speaker, and mentor and is the President of Reflections Ministries, The Museum of Created Beauty, and Trinity House Publishers.
Publications by Dr. Boa include Conformed to His Image, Handbook to Prayer, Handbook to Leadership, Faith Has Its Reasons, Rewriting Your Broken Story, Life in the Presence of God, Leverage, and Recalibrate Your Life.
Dr. Boa holds a B.S. from Case Institute of Technology, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, a Ph.D. from New York University, and a D.Phil. from the University of Oxford in England.
