In modern society, the concept of power has expanded beyond formal authority, laws, government, money, and corporate institutions, and has instead become more nuanced. This is because power is attention-driven.
Every day, people scroll on their devices, consuming information from all ends of the globe. Through feeds, headlines, and algorithms, they see what matters; what we can conveniently call trends. While this may feel very natural, it actually isn’t. What we see, don‘t see, ignore, or believe is controlled by a powerful system known as the attention economy.
A Controlled Resource
Humans can only pay attention to so much. With 24 hours a day and volumes of information in the world to process, there is a clear imbalance. Control systems are designed to select the most relevant information for a consumer at any given time. Outside of these systems, information is intangible until received, as media without engagement remains invisible.
In today’s media, attention is highly dependent on personal interest. If it entertains, then it gets the most attention. Content that provokes outrage, fear, desire, or tribal loyalty is rewarded with visibility. Content that is slow, complex, or critical is barely noticed, because it does not ‘appeal’.
It is not surprising, however, because media platforms have been built to maximize engagement with clicks, reactions, and shares. These metrics reward content that triggers emotion, and consequently create systems where what spreads is not what matters most, but what captures attention.
Media Influences Reality
Attention has little to do with importance; visibility is not guaranteed by accuracy or value, but by what holds attention longest. The media assigns relevance by deciding what leads the news, what trends, and what disappears. This does not reflect our reality. Certain information become trends only because it is constantly highlighted, while the not-so-fortunate disappear because they are too fickle to be sustained.
It is a subtle but powerful process. Rising issues that affect millions may receive fleeting coverage, while events that fit dramatic narratives dominate public consciousness. In such scenarios, attention is allocated.
Attention Confers Relevance
When a topic dominates the media and gets constantly debated, it becomes relevant, even if it is flawed. The same applies to a person who gets featured repeatedly. The more visible a thing, the more familiar it gets.
This is why, for some people, being talked about often matters more than being right; it is the reason why controversy, otherwise referred to as clout, can be a visibility strategy. The system cares less if a topic is relevant to society; rather, it asks, “Will people get hooked?”
Narrative Is Power
The attention economy is not controlled by a single figure; instead, power is built across creators, platforms, and audiences, in which creators chase visibility, and platforms reward engagement, while audiences respond emotionally.
Narratives decide the hero, the villain, what counts as progress, and what counts as failure. They influence interpretation before facts are even considered, and with time, they become the standard.
When you own the narrative, you have the power to decide which information is relevant.
The Illusion of Choice
We believe we have the power to choose what we pay attention to, but choice is not full freedom. Algorithms govern visibility by analyzing our engagement. They learn what keeps us hooked and feed us more of it.
What we see as “trending” has already been tailored to reach us through incentive-driven systems we do not see.
This results in a cycle where attention trains the system and the system reciprocates. This cycle thrives on repetition and existing patterns, and discourages critical thinking.
Who Benefits?
In this world, power belongs to those who put out relatable content and sustain visibility over time. Journalists who cover trending news to keep outlets alive, creators who exaggerate to maintain relevance, and an audience that rewards what entertains or resonates with them.
The disturbing reality is that society assumes ‘visible’ to mean ‘important’, and in this age, awareness cannot be overemphasized.
Consequences in Society
Complex issues demand sustained focus and depth, which the attention economy lacks. When there is no depth, meaning becomes shallow and unstable.
When attention is constantly pulled toward spectacle, people react instead of reflect, and conversations become louder, tending towards argumentative.
In the attention economy, visibility determines relevance, and this translates into power. Those who control attention only need to decide what is seen and who sees it.
Taking Charge of our Own Reins
When we read beyond headlines and actually engage in some research to seek depth over trends, we work against the system.
By questioning what is presented over time and becoming intentional about what we focus on, we take control of the content we assimilate and, in doing so, free ourselves.
