Page 7 - Amusing ourselves to death
P. 7
AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH
household. The internet has not only erased that distribution scarcity but also flooded the
world with information. However, this has resulted in a new scarcity: people's attention.
To address the last question, some implications of the internet's entertainment bias are as
follows.
Emotion vs. rationality
Emotion is among the most efficient
strategies to get people's attention. For
example, the anger that the internet can
causes.
After all, it's far easier to be outraged and
offended than it is to use cognitive engines
and subject thoughts to careful logical
analysis.
Novelty vs long-lasting ideas
In this day and age, if anything posted is an hour
(sometimes less) old on social media like Twitter
and Facebook, it can be classified as old
news. Which is why people keep refreshing
their news feed every few minutes.
6
household. The internet has not only erased that distribution scarcity but also flooded the
world with information. However, this has resulted in a new scarcity: people's attention.
To address the last question, some implications of the internet's entertainment bias are as
follows.
Emotion vs. rationality
Emotion is among the most efficient
strategies to get people's attention. For
example, the anger that the internet can
causes.
After all, it's far easier to be outraged and
offended than it is to use cognitive engines
and subject thoughts to careful logical
analysis.
Novelty vs long-lasting ideas
In this day and age, if anything posted is an hour
(sometimes less) old on social media like Twitter
and Facebook, it can be classified as old
news. Which is why people keep refreshing
their news feed every few minutes.
6
