Living And Dying In The Attention Economy

It doesn’t have to be so deadly

David Milgrim
3 min readNov 2, 2022

Everybody wants to be seen. The drive is unavoidably hammered into our DNA. But capturing anyone’s attention, even for a moment, is quite the challenge these days. So, it’s no surprise to see the extremes people go to satisfy this hard-wired need.

Doods climbing up the side of a multi-story condo complex to demonstrate their spring break prowess. • Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Pulsing with an evolutionary mandate to earn our place in the safety and strength of the group, we are compelled to make a contribution.

Hipster ironically posting a dinner pic to his dog’s IG account. • Austin, TX

Without the automatic community that was naturally built into the prehistoric tribal life for which we were adapted, we have become a touch desperate. Perhaps, even more than a touch.

Man juggling snakes atop an alpaca. • Venice Beach, CA

With our amygdalas constantly freaking out that we’re about to be cast out and eaten by saber-tooth tigers, we scramble to increasingly obscure corners of notoriety. And alternative social groups.

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