Publish at April 10 2023 Updated April 11 2023
It is common to see a lack of attention in our loved ones. Parents are no longer so attentive to children, children are no longer too attentive to their parents. Even in couples, it happens that partners find themselves lacking attention due to technology or digital: they telesnob each other. Clinging to smartphones, tablets and other tools, humans are increasingly distant physically and close virtually. So it's not a matter of attention disappearing but of attention being redirected by technologies.
When observed closely, the digital industry based on the number of views only thrives on the attention of "followers." This is what we can call the "Attention Industry" that relies on social networks and metavers.
The acceptance or meaning of the term "influencer", commonly known nowadays, is the one that refers to a person or persons who, through social networks, have surrounded themselves with a community of followers who follow them and comment on their publications on a daily basis. Depending on the number of views, these people earn more or less well.
What do these views represent? Isn't it the attention that these people draw to them? From 1000 views, that is the attention of 1000 people on a specific publication, you can start earning a certain amount of money. People glued to smartphones all day long, to the point of not noticing the presence of people around them, have directed their attention to content that interests them, suggested by algorithms that rely on their de facto preferences, in a virtuous loop. The more they look at what they like, the more they will like what is displayed.
Speech, which can be defined as a set of written or oral statements made by a person has never been so widespread. This is thanks to technologies. The Internet has brought the creation of blogs powered by writers whose increased visibility of content attracts sponsors. Through advertising, product sales, affiliation, etc. bloggers earn a living: "Bloggers are paid by different entities. They get their income from the companies themselves, when they affiliate or advertise on their blog. They also get paid by their community members who buy their products or services, if any." (Naier Saidane, 2023). A successful blogger earns about 2500 euros per month. That is to say that the attention that people pay to bloggers feeds them and makes them live.
With the development of social networks, the image industry is increasing in notoriety every day. Several applications are specialized in this industry but one of the best known is undoubtedly Instagram. Rudy Viard the defines it in these words:
"Instagram is a mobile application that allows you to take photos and then apply filters to improve the quality of the shot and give it a sometimes vintage and sometimes saturated effect. Instagram also allows you to record and share short videos with your phone. Instagram is finally a social network that allows you to follow accounts and be followed."
The improvement of the quality of photos dedicated to Instagram has a single objective: to attract attention. You can, through your account, follow the accounts of others or be followed. Whether it's one way or the other, you're fully contributing to the expansion of the views business.
Influencer Leslie Lawson says she makes her living primarily from her Instagram posts. Her images total an average of 8,000 views. She has around 151k followers on Instagram. This is largely superior to start benefiting from the fallout: "Between 10,000 and 50,000 followers, the remuneration varies between 250€ and 500€. Between 50,000 and 90,000 followers, the money an influencer earns can climb to €1,000." (Max Arengi, 2023).
She attracts about 8,000 people per post she makes. Beyond photos, we have videos. Videos are the most viewed content on the internet. Instagram, Tik Tok and many other apps are driving the expansion of this attention industry.
Artificial intelligence is also a revenue generator focused on consumer attention. Let's take the case of the use of metavers in the promotion of museums. Virtual tours can be free, this is the case of the Louvre Museum. They can also be paid. This activity saw its full bloom during the pandemic. For example, for $100 and for two hours you can during visit the Graceland, the home of the late singer Elvis Presley.
At the end of the day, digital has channeled people's attention and the direct consequence is the emergence of an industry based on views, the attention industry. It is an unbalanced attention insofar as it is directed towards the creators of contents. The creators give a certain attention but it is diluted among the thousands of people who follow them. This phenomenon is difficult to restrict because everyone gets something out of it: the visitor gives attention to satisfy desires and the creators live off their attention bait.
In the digital age, synonyms for attention can be followers, subscribers, views, views, clicks, comments, interactions, shares, etc.
Bibliography
Arengi, Max (2023), "Salary on Instagram 2023: how much do influencers earn?",
https://business-cool.com/decrypting/salary/instagram-influencers/
Saidane, Naier, (2023), "How to Make Money with a Blog in 2023 (the Guide),"
https://lentrepreneurenvous.com/gagner-argent-blog/
Viard Rudy, (2023) "Instagram" https://www.webmarketing-conseil.fr/instagram/
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