I really like this quote from Herbert Simon:
A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.
I bet a lot of you are feeling this poverty of attention.
I know I certainly am.
There’s a lot happening in the world right now, and if you are like me, you are trying to stay on top of it.
I’ve been listening to podcasts, reading articles, diving into books, and following the news more closely than usual.
And then, against my better judgment, I put Instagram back on my phone.
That’s when things tipped over for me.
Social media (and really, any modern media) has a way of slipping past your defenses. You don’t open it intending to lose twenty minutes. You open it for a moment. And then another post appears. And then another… and another.
The algorithm captures your attention and holds onto it, and that is exactly what it was designed to do.
But let’s face it, we’re not victims here.
We participate willingly with our scrolling and liking. We feel the need to put our phones down, but moments later, we pick them back up.
Perhaps that’s why the rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges have surged over the past decade, especially among adolescents and young adults. We’re bathing our nervous systems in constant stimulation, comparison, and urgency.
But is the algorithm the problem, or is it something deeper?
I personally believe it is the latter, and here’s a subtle shift in assumptions that might help.
The real issue isn’t that our attention is being taken from us. It’s that we’re giving it away without acknowledging the cost.
Attention isn’t neutral.
Whatever consistently holds your attention starts to shape how you think, what you worry about, and what feels important. Over time, it determines what feels urgent and what fades into the background.
And right now, many of us are letting external systems decide that for us.
I see this show up constantly with so many of us. We’re informed, thoughtful, and deeply committed to doing good in the world. But our attention is scattered across too many inputs, so everything feels heavy, unfinished, and in need of a reactive response.
We assume the solution is better prioritization, more discipline, or another productivity tool, but that treats attention like a time-management problem.
It’s not.
Attention is a personal decision.
Before you decide what actions to take, what to respond to, or what to care about, you decide where to place your attention.
But often we aren’t deciding!
We are just going with the flow and giving away our power.
Remember this:
What consistently earns your attention shapes your life.
So pay attention to your attention and use it wisely.
This might be one of the most important subtle shifts you can make!
