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The Attention Economy

In 2018, James Williams analyzed how many digital technologies were designed to maximize user engagement and attentional capture, sometimes prioritizing this over directly serving users' stated needs. Five years later, there is growing research interest in studying the cognitive and behavioral impacts of persuasive attentional systems governed by engagement metrics. While beneficial, some warn these could impair self-regulation if attentional monopolization goes too far. As human-computer interaction evolves, maintaining a balance between engagement and user autonomy is crucial. Developing frameworks to align attentional systems with human values and goals is an important scientific and ethical frontier.



 
 
 

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