Attention as distraction

Abstract

Attention, as sustained thoughtful focus, differs from distraction solely in view of the deliberated object’s social value. Social risks and contradictions, typically regarded as a collective concern, have colonised privacy through processes of individualization and are nowadays considered exclusively from individual’s positions – attention aimed inwards as an outside distraction. Coincidentally, in this era of “the attention/distraction economy,” what we socially evaluate as distraction is extremely profitable for perpetuating the system and respective capital. Individual(‘s) guilt while serving the aforementioned purpose, reinforces the perception of individual responsibility and steers the(ir) focus towards strengthening personal discipline and continuously upgrading one’s biography. However, if disruption, which steers our thoughts towards the collective or outward, does exist, I’d call it art.