Editorial

Abstract

With the overflow of free and personalized internet content available practically everywhere at any moment simply by clicking on a link, publishing a printed magazine with in-depth content and extremely lengthy articles that exceed an average reader’s ability to pay attention long enough to read them doesn’t seem like the most obvious choice. The amount of available online content is enormous, information overflows the world much faster than one is able to register, we’re bombarded by aggressive clickbait every day, access to our personal information is hacked and exploited on a daily basis continuously and aggressively attempting to grab our attention by using our most intimate data. Contemporary interdisciplinary studies talk about the “attention economy“ because attention – compared to the amount of data that’s being produced in this era overwhelmed with (useless) information – has become a very scarce and precious raw material that can be monetized and traded with. But isn’t one of the possible ways to rebel against this exploitation and abuse of attention precisely to meticulously nurture reading practices and participate in interest groups in order to stand up to the fragmentation of readers and individualization of content?