Know Your Enemy

Pay Attention! (w/ Chris Hayes)

93 snips
Feb 18, 2025
Chris Hayes, journalist and MSNBC host, delves into the modern malaise of attention deficiency shaped by the digital age. He discusses how attention has supplanted information as our primary commodity and the effects this has on society, particularly on youth. Hayes shares personal struggles with social media distraction and highlights ancient practices like prayer as potential remedies. They explore the political implications of attention, using figures like Donald Trump to illustrate the divide and fragmentation in our collective focus.
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INSIGHT

Attention as a Resource

  • Attention is the defining resource of our age, much like fossil fuels defined the industrial age.
  • Information is abundant, but our attention is finite and thus scarce and valuable.
INSIGHT

Alienation of Attention

  • Commodifying attention, like labor, creates alienation.
  • Our finite attention, constantly auctioned off, leaves us feeling deeply unsatisfied.
ANECDOTE

The Siren's Call

  • Chris Hayes describes struggling to resist checking his phone while reading to his child.
  • He justifies his own "pathological" internet use as necessary for his news job.
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