ATTENTION ACTIVISM - Metacrisis Salon #6
In order to stand against any of the hydra-heads of the polycrisis—such as ecocide, systemic inequality, or loss of meaning—you must first have the capacity to face their direction: in other words, to give them your attention.
But in a cruel twist, your attention itself has become one of the principal targets of manipulation, extraction, and exploitation by the five largest companies in the world, a $12 trillion industry. These companies spend billions to keep your eyes glued to your devices, to shape what you feel, and to influence what you think.
So what do we do?
Perhaps it’s time for a new kind of activism—one that mirrors environmentalism, but for our inner environment: attention activism. A movement to liberate our attention from corporate capture and to build a world more conducive to human flourishing.
Attention is far more than what we look at. It is the medium through which we connect to others, to ourselves, and to the world. It is the first step toward any kind of love.
With guests from the School of Radical Attention, we’ll explore strategies of attention activism, including: understanding attention beyond its exploited form; creating attention sanctuaries for yourself and others; and building coalitions of attention activists who can help their communities push back against Big Tech—and reenchant the world.
SCHEDULE
6:30 PM — Arrival & mingling
7:00 PM — Presentation & Q&A (Peter Schmidt)
7:45 PM — Group attention practice
8:15 PM — Panel on Attention Activism
(Henry Kramer, Jahony Germosen, Haena Chu, Quinn Marchman)
9:00 PM — Group sharing & final exercise
9:30 PM — Event concludes / more mingling
DETAILS
Vegan & gluten-free snacks and drinks provided
Venmo $10 to @benvonwong. Nobody will be turned away because of lack of funds.
Guest List
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