Why Your Attention is the Product

If a service is free and global, ask who pays. Advertisers buy predicted attention—will you watch, click, buy? Your behavior is inventory.

More engagement equals more ad slots. Outrage, fear, and lust outperform calm explanation. Ethics lose in short-term metrics unless leadership chooses otherwise.

You are not the customer; you are the mined resource. Terms of service grant broad data rights in exchange for connectivity.

Reclaiming attention is economic self-defense. Hours not scrolled can become income, health, or relationships with compound returns.

Paid alternatives exist—newsletters, apps with subscriptions. Evaluate whether price aligns with incentives.

Collective pressure—regulation, unionizing creators, workplace norms—matters too; personal hacks alone cannot fix architecture.

Algorithm and notification articles show mechanisms in detail.