Facebook, Instragram, Youtube, Twitter, Snapchat - what do all of these have in common? They are all in the game of gaining, and keeping YOUR attention. So much so that this has even given rise to the term 'Attention economy'. The ways in which companies are trying to gain, and keep your attention are becoming more and more clever - after all if one app doesn't gain your attention then another one will. More attention means more eyes on ads and thus more revenue for these platforms.

How are companies gaining and manipulating your attention?

Since the invention of the smartphones and the widespread use of social media companies are becoming more and more sneaky and manipulative in their design.

Facebook

Facebook for example was one of the first apps to have the 'endless scroll' - i'm sure most of you are aware that you can mindlessly scroll for an eternity. The reason behind this design is that if there is no 'end' we are likely to stay longer and click on ads. Facebook also makes clever use of notifications on there mobile app - notifying you when basically any activity occurs on your page, and prompting you to log back in.

Youtube

Youtube has basically cloned the 'endless feed', and you can endlessly update for new videos. Youtube also has the 'autoplay' feature automatically turned on, so that before you know it you have been watching cat videos for 3 hours. Again this is a simple but clever way of getting, and keeping users attention. Again like Facebook, Youtube encourages its users to turn on post notifications so they 'dont miss a video'.

Snapchat

I recently became aware of how Snapchat (I don't use it!) have a feature called 'Snap streaks' meaning it keeps track of and makes a deal of how many days in a row you have snapchatted a friend. Especially with the younger generation this has led to an emotional connection to their account and not wanting to end their streak. Again a simple and clever trick to get users logging back in every day!

So how can we take some power back?

If you still use Facebook (like I do from time to time), the first thing I reccomend is to turn off all of the notifications (if you are using the app). This means that you become more responsible for your usage, rather than being 'told' when to look at your feed. I have gone a few steps further by unistalling the app completly, and logging in and out each time I want to view my feed from my browser.

With Youtube I have turned off the 'autoplay' button, as I find otherwise it is to easy to just keep watching videos for hours. Along with this I have all notifications turned off. Another step you can take is to pause your watch and search history - what this does is stops you from getting 'reccomended' videos, and thus spending more time on Youtube than you intend. Now I just use Youtube as a tool, for example if I want to learn a new excersize of a new recipe, and then log out again.

Another thing I generally do is to have my phone away from me when I am not using it. This way if there is a notification I wont be distracted from what I am currently doing. Rather than dragging my attention away I can evaluate the notification when I decided to use my phone for somethin I want to do.

I have always thought that one social media account is enough, as they all essentially do the same things. By having more accounts we become more and more bombarded by apps and sites competing for the scarce resource of our attention.

Conclusion

The rise of smart phones and social media has led to the 'attention economy'. Companies are becoming more and more tactical about how they gain (and keep) your attention.

As always I would love your thoughts.

All images downloaded from royalty free website pixabay.com