July 21, 2024
Recently, a friend asked me for more details about what sort of project I was up to with my move to Arizona. My last post was admittedly a tad cryptic, and that was intentional as the truth is, I’m still figuring it out. I don’t know how I’ll fit into that ecosystem1. That’s what makes it an experiment. That’s what makes it exciting! In the meantime, however, I’ve realized my current focus - my “beat,” if you will - is attention.
In today’s digital world, attention has become a critical resource, yet it’s something we don’t pay enough attention to (pun intended). Through my work in master’s program and personal experiences, I’ve come to understand just how crucial managing our attention is, both on individual and societal levels.2 Take, for instance, a recent conversation I had with a close family member. They had been spending significant amounts on in-app purchases for mobile games. I had to explain that they were dealing with systems designed to capture and manipulate attention, leading to what could be described as addictive behavior. This situation isn’t unique - it’s a widespread issue affecting people across all age groups and sectors of life and touches us both at work and at home.
I believe we’re facing a real crisis of attention, largely driven by big tech companies that have become incredibly adept at harnessing our focus for their benefit. Some have called this “tech addiction,” but I don’t think addiction is quite the right framing; I think rooting this problem in attention is more appropriate.3 To counter this, I believe we need to develop what I call “attentional agency” This involves understanding how attention works, learning to use our digital tools more consciously, and designing new tools that give us greater control over our attention. I want to be clear here about one thing, however: the goal isn’t necessarily to increase focus/flow nor productivity, though that may be an outcome, and thus my approach is not particularly productivity-centered. My approach is to maximize overall well-being by better attending to attention and, in particular, exploring the empirical literature on attention and its potential approaches and applications.
Since writing my master’s thesis, I have started developing a framework for developing attentional agency that spans multiple levels:
As I continue my job search, I’m excited to bring these ideas and practices into my work. I believe that understanding and managing attention is not just a personal skill, but a valuable asset for teams and organizations. This focus on attention is more than just a project - it’s become a passion.
I’m looking forward to diving deeper into this topic, sharing what I learn, and hopefully contributing to a world where we’re more conscious of how we direct possibly our most valuable resource: our attention.
For an excellent primer on attention, I highly recommend reading “The Battle for Attention,” a fabulous recent New Yorker article with a delightful twist.
Among other opportunities, I am currently looking for work; my resume can be found at brettneese.com. However, do note that while not against the idea of doing some work on-site, I am primarily interested on continuing to work remotely.↩︎
As always, I stand on the shoulders of giants. I am not the first to make these claims; among others my work has been heavily influenced by Gloria Mark (in particular her book Attention Span) and Cal Newport (particularly A World Wthout Email); and an honorable mention to Tim Wu for his book The Attention Merchants, which I am still reading.↩︎
A good counternarrative to the moral panic around tech addiction (particularly as framed by Jonathan Haidt in his rather misleading book The Anxious Generation) can be found in the You’re Wrong About episode Phones Are Good, Actually with Taylor Lorenz↩︎
Interestingly, the literature backs the idea that meta-cognition — or thinking about thinking — is itself is a tool that can be harnessed to manage attention.↩︎