Research

The attention economy, how they addict us, Youtube

This video really made me think about the advertising side of the attention economy. It widened my perspective and made me think about advertising as having their soul purpose to just be grabbing our attention, rather than sharing and promoting valuable information. Is the advertising industry changing and are the products they are advertising changing too?

"What consumerism really is, at its worst is getting people to buy things that don't actually improve their lives." - Jeff Bezos

This quote really resonated with me because if the owner of Amazon, the epitome of consumerism, can admit and confirm how destructive consumerism is, is terrifying. When looking at advertisements and new products on the internet and social media, I can see that less valuable products are being produced and advertised to convince they are essential to someones life. This also brings up the climate emergency and how the more we consume and demand, the inevitable increased degradation to the planet is going to come.

Sense of reward

Social media has been designed to chemically change our brains to feel a sense of reward when we receive messages, get likes on our photos etc in order to make us more addicted and therefore use the products more for the financial gain of these companies. This poses the question of what actually gives us a genuine sense of reward? Before social media the sort of things that made a day rewarding can include doing exercise in the morning, eating healthily, getting lots of work done, being promoted at work, but if these things are all given less time because we are spending valuable time addicted to our technology, how are we going to live fulfilled lives?

Positives

In light of all of the serious and detrimental consequences of technology, it is essential to acknowledge the positives that it brings to the world. Education, staying in touch with friends and family all over the world are just a few examples of how social media has such a positive impact on us.

Individual Responsibility

As individuals, we have all of the power to control what we are shown on social media. After all, technology relies on our input to decide what to show us next. We can choose not use use technology as often, change our habits to be able to live more fulfilled lives.

Reasons to not be on social media, YouTube

- the feeling of discontentment with ones own life as we are comparing ourselves to others lives.

- to be able to feel fully present when around people, not having to check your phone while with other people and disconnecting yourself.

All of the reasons that are explored in these youtube videos are reasons that i would expect. I think its about learning to find a new balance between technology and real life, to be able to move forward in a healthy way.

Welcome to WeTransfer. Please Leave.

This short clip emphasises the time that is wasted online. This advertisement for WeTransfer is telling us when 'its time to leave' our screens, and how technology can be used in moderation, for positive, productive reasons. I like this advert, it highlights the balance of real life and technology that we often get wrong.

Rachel Maclean, We Want Data

For me, the prints illustrate how the over use, what i believe is general use, is taking over and destroying our lives. The prints illustrate the destruction both physically and emotionally. I think the work also comments on how things can seem perfect online, but in reality it can be a very different scenario.

Matthew Keff

While watching Keff's videos, they made me extremely self aware. It made me think about my stationary physical state, in comparison to my concentrated and occupied brain. It made me think about how much time i can spend sitting, hardly moving, while watching videos, and also the lack of importance of the videos i was watching.

RSA Shorts - The Attention Economy

This video takes a documentary approach, explaining facts and how they affect society. The intentions of of social media are explained to not always have your best interests, and yet we use it for self enjoyment.

Page 2 - Engagement or Passivity

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