#How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

[luxe-pauvre]

But beyond self-care and the ability to (really) listen, the practice of doing nothing has something broader to offer us: an antidote to the rhetoric of growth. In the context of health and ecology, things that grow unchecked are often considered parasitic or cancerous. Yet we inhabit a culture that privileges novelty and growth over the cyclical and the regenerative. Our very idea of productivity is premised on the idea of producing something new, whereas we do not tend to see maintenance and care as productive in the same way.

Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

#Jenny Odell #How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

[carolkeiter]

How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell  |  Comfort with the Discomfort of Indecision 

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”  ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist The subject of the universe conspiring to help a person aspire towards their intentions, has occurred for me over the last weeks. A month ago when I had the luxury of time to relax and contemplate my next moves, and whether to continue spiraling along the path of pet sitting…

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#art #attention #Awareness #breath #contentment #Creativity #Ellie Shechet #Environment #How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy #in the moment #indecision #intention #IT #Jenny Odell #natural world #nature #Paulo Coelho #pause #peace #power of now #self help book #Travel #Trustedhousesitters #workaholic #Writing

[probablyasocialecologist]

When the language of advertising and personal branding enjoins you to “be yourself,” what it really means is “be more yourself,” where “yourself” is a consistent and recognizable pattern of habits, desires, and drives that can be more easily advertised to and appropriated, like units of capital.

Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

#How to Do Nothing #advertising

[ssentimentals]

first crush {choi seungcheol}

pairing: seungcheol x fem!reader

prompt: 'you should pay rent of how much you live in my head.'

warnings: none, it's pure fluff as usual

seungcheol is with his friends at starbucks and they are discussing something, but he’s not listening, not really; his whole attention is focused on you and when that happens, everything else kind of fades into the background for him. you are standing not far up the queue and he already knows you are going to order one cappuccino venti with a small smile and always, always a polite 'please' and 'thank you' on your lips. he already knows you are going to glance at the caramel waffles on the counter, bite your lip in a debate whether to buy them or not and for whatever reason you always decide against them despite your obvious desire and it makes seungcheol sad every single time. for the last two months he has to resist the urge to come up to you with whole pack of those waffles, the only thing that’s stopping him is that you two are… nothing, in reality. not friends or at least acquaintances, not enemies, not strangers - just two people who have decided to take Economy 101 and now are suffering the consequences of that action. 

seokmin, ever the gentle sunshine, nudges him with: 'some people find staring creepy, so maybe you can-'

'seok is trying to remind you that you have balls, so man up and make the first move,' jeonghan interrupts, grinning. 'we are not letting this one slide, my friend. it’s your first crush, after all!'

and that is exactly what makes everything bizarre for seungcheol - you are his first crush. he never understood what 'crush' even entails, because he never really found anyone particularly appealing or maybe he just never bothered with relationships being too focused on his studies; 'crush' never happened to him in that big sense, when one actually feels something close to the word that starts on 'L''. he did have his share of dates but nothing turned into something serious and no one stayed in his head the way you managed to do without even trying. seungcheol likes his routine and these unfamiliar feelings towards you were not part of it, which annoyed him at first but then he just accepted that thoughts about you became part of his day. his friends obviously noticed this change in him and got incredibly excited on the prospect of him finally having a crush on someone. ('it’s really not that big of a deal,' cheol tries to reason but they don’t even listen to him. 'you having a crush happens like once in a blue moon, of course it’s a big deal!'). so yes, he has a crush. he doesn’t really understand how others are not like him as well, because surely he can’t be the only one who notices how you stand out from the rest? it was intimidating at first but when he realized that you are single and no one is actively pursuing you, he relaxed and— did nothing. horrifyingly paralyzing fear of rejection stopped him from trying anything out (that one time when he came up to you with a question about upcoming exam does not count). which is also not seungcheol’s style, and it’s again unusual, unfamiliar, bizarre and oh god, he hates it. 

'seat next to her is the only empty one,' seokmin notices and seungcheol doesn’t miss him and jeonghan sharing a knowing look. 'um, i suddenly remembered-'

'don’t you fucking dare.' seungcheol grabs both of them by elbows but he’s not quick enough.

'we have to go, my mom’s friend’s fish was left unattended, you see?' jeonghan’s eyes are sparkling with mischief and he pats cheol’s back in a mock comfort. 'but you said it yourself, atmosphere here helps you to focus better and you have to finish that paper, right? so stay and me and seokmin have to go.' little shit grabs seokmin’s hand and pushes him towards the exit. 'and remember cheollie - you have balls!'

cheol glances at your direction and you look too engrossed in the book to notice anything else, so he's a little relieved on that one. he quickly orders his usual americano and with zero hesitation also grabs two packs of caramel waffles, ignoring how his heart decided to gallop out of his chest at this moment. every step towards your table feels like a battle within himself and by the time he reaches you, seungcheol is mentally exhausted and his brain turns into mush because when you look up, all that comes out from his mouth is a rather rude 'that's for you' followed by thrown waffles in your direction. he realizes what he's done only seconds after but it's already too late: you look startled in a very, very unpleasant way. shit.

'shit,' he vocalizes, making you look at him again. 'fuck- i'm sorry for throwing them at you, i was going to- that was very rude, wasn't?' you nod and he sighs, resisting the urge to bump his head at the table. 'i'm sorry, i didn't mean to do that. shit, i really wish i could control myself better around you.'

his mouth finally shuts up and after a minute of a charged silence, you gesture at the empty seat in front of you. 'you wanted to take that one?'

seungcheol mutely nods, unmoving. you are looking at him like he's weird and he is, that's the thing, but you were not supposed to learn that right away. he hesitantly pulls up the chair and as you don't protest, he equally hesitantly sits on it, pulling out his laptop from the backpack. 'i'm sorry again,' he mutters and carefully slides waffles towards you. 'these are for you. i'm seungcheol, by the way, in case-'

'i know your name,' you interrupt quietly, raising your eyebrow. 'we are together in Economy 101 class. we even talked once, i think.'

'we did.' he confirms and again taps on the waffles. 'i notic- i mean, anyway, these are for you.' when you look at him with a very obvious question, he adds: 'just thought you would like them, you know.'

'you bought these waffles because you thought i would like them?' you ask, puzzled.

seungcheol nods. you are silent again and honestly? he's on a low head start of just sprinting the fuck out of here, because this might be the most awkward and embarrassing interaction he ever had in whole life and-

'think of me a lot then, seungcheol?'

he looks up in shock. you don't look mad - there's humor in your eyes and question is asked in a more teasing manner than anything else. corners of your lips are turned upwards and it looks like you are trying your hardest not to smile widely. you sound confident but he sees light blush dusting your cheeks and you're not fooling him, you are nervous too. seungcheol sits back, smiling.

'you should pay rent of how much you live in my head.'

your eyes widen a little and you duck your head, making him grin widely. your shoulders shake with a quiet laughter and seungcheol's mission instantly becomes to get out of here and hear your loud laugh, be the reason of it. when you look up, you are smiling and he feel his heart thump loudly in his chest. ah, so this is what differentiates 'crush' from everyone else. you are smiling at him and just this gesture makes him happy, just this is enough.

'i can take payment in different ways, by the way. i'm flexible like that,' he says, grinning.

'oh really?' you ask, smiling as well. 'what are the ways of paying?'

'giving me your number is the one that i feel most inclined to at the moment.' he unlocks his phone and slides it towards you. 'rest can be discussed.'

he refuses to acknowledge how adrenaline practically pumps through his veins as you enter the digits. you give it back to him and he calls instantly, lightning up when your phone starts buzzing. you laugh, shaking your head in amusement: 'you thought i'd given you a fake number?'

he shrugs, smiling. 'it's always good to check.' he then looks down at another pack of waffles and slides them to you as well. 'these ones are for you too.'

your smile is sincere when you accept them and your quiet 'thank you' warms his heart. he's too excited to concentrate on any work right now, so he stands up, ready to share great news with his friends. 'i'll text you,' he promises, gathering his laptop. 'please reply to me.'

you laugh loudly at this and he smiles. mission completed. 'i will, i promise.' you say. 'see you, i guess?'

he nods. 'see you very soon,' he confirms and runs away with a light heart and a huge smile on his face.

a/n: ah it's almost Christmas! hopefully you are all in a good place and are enjoying it to the fullest <3 here is the link to my other works, check them out as well! - nini

tag list: @pearlygraysky @woozionascooter @smalliechelle @jaetaimjadore @yeow6n (let me know if you want to be added!)

#choi seungcheol #seungcheol imagines #seungcheol x y/n #seungcheol fluff #seventeen fluff #seungcheol x reader #seventeen reaction #seventeen imagine #seventeen scenarios #seventeen seungcheol #svt seungcheol #scoups fluff #scoups #scoups scenarios #scoups seventeen

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

#20yrsago Promising anti-obesity pill https://web.archive.org/web/20040419011611/http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2004/tc2004048_9548_tc122.htm

#20yrsago NDP leader Jack Layton endorses P2P https://memex.craphound.com/2004/04/09/canadas-ndp-leader-endorses-p2p/

#20yrsago EFF on Gmail https://web.archive.org/web/20040420195950/https://blogs.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/001375.php#001375

#15yrsago Cold dead hand of Frank Herbert reaches up from grave, stabs Dune Second Life megafans in the back https://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2009/04/enforcers-of-dune.html

#15yrsago French government nukes crazy Internet law in open revolt against Sarkozy https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/apr/09/france-illegal-downloads-state-surveillance

#10yrsago NSA spies on human rights groups, including those in the USA https://techcrunch.com/2014/04/08/snowden-council-of-europe-testimony/

#10yrsago Prosecutors wage war on judges who insist on fairness https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/03/07/judge-says-prosecutors-should-follow-the-law-prosecutors-revolt/

#10yrsago LAPD officers sabotage their own voice-recorders: nothing to hide, nothing to fear? https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/04/lapd-officers-monkey-wrenched-cop-monitoring-gear-in-patrol-cars/

#5yrsago Today, Michigan regulators vote on conservative education “reform” plan to purge the word “democracy” from curriculum https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/michigan-conservatives-vie-to-cut-democracy-from-classroom.html

#5yrsago The Chinafication of the internet continues as the UK proposes blocking any service that hosts “illegal” or “harmful” material https://memex.craphound.com/2019/04/09/the-chinafication-of-the-internet-continues-as-the-uk-proposes-blocking-any-service-that-hosts-illegal-or-harmful-material/

#5yrsago How to Do Nothing: Jenny Odell’s case for resisting “The Attention Economy” https://memex.craphound.com/2019/04/09/how-to-do-nothing-jenny-odells-case-for-resisting-the-attention-economy/

#1yrsago How To Make a Child-Safe TikTok https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/09/how-to-make-a-child-safe-tiktok/

#pluralistic

[itsbinghebitch]

just as Moonlight Chicken comes to a close, i have the chance to find myself reading a book very relevant to its themes. How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell, discusses the notion of what it means to be useful in free market capitalism and felt very poignant as I was watching MLC, both book and show placing emphasis on rootedness and responsibility to our home/ecosystem in a world where, increasingly, our space and relationships are determined by the logic of capital.

throughout the show, Uncle Jim’s arc deals with the impending closure of his chicken diner due to corporate development in the area. we soon find out the pandemic has taken a toll on businesses in this neighborhood, and that Uncle Jim offers unlimited chicken to his customers after midnight. this is later questioned by Wen, who thinks Jim could be making a bigger profit if he ditched the all-you-can-eat after midnight business model, and notes that “other diners do that.” Uncle Jim disagrees. he says: “I’m comfortable with the way I’m doing it.” he thinks in terms of the larger ecosystem of his community: of the food waste (where we know big corporate chains like Starbucks have to dump good food at the end of each day), of the usefulness of his economic role beyond bringing him a profit.  

Wen’s profit drive and his participation to the development of the Marina food court is shared by a few others in the MLC world: from the neighborhood local landlord to Gaipa’s mom. throughout the show, we feel the pressure of smaller players having to learn to adapt to grow in order to survive.

related to capitalist growth, Odell’s book says, “in the context of health and ecology, things that grow unchecked are often considered parasitic or cancerous. Yet we inhabit a culture that privileges novelty and growth over the cyclical and regenerative. Our very idea of productivity is premised on the idea of producing something new, whereas we do not tend to see maintenance and care as productive in the same way.”

economic growth in the universe of Pattaya, the Marina food court construction, Wen’s promotion, are all intertwined with the challenge of the same capitalist growth mindset at the level of interpersonal relationships: Wen chasing for a confirmation of his status with Jim, Li Ming’s struggle to determine his next step towards economic sufficiency, Heart becoming deaf and his parents’ reaction to essentially hide him away from society (with the implication that disabled individuals are a dissonant surplus in a society that functions by triaging its weakest).

the theme of leaving and starting anew is also important in MLC. Jim and Jam abandon their rural origin for economic prosperity; Li Ming’s wants to do the same with America. Wen leaves his relationship with Alan and Leng discusses the possibility of an abortion for his child with Praew. it stands out, therefore, that almost every character completes their arc not by leaving and starting anew, but by learning how to make use of what they have. Li Ming locks in his plans to leave not out of economic necessity, but out of the desire to help Heart. Leng and Praew stick together to raise their child despite economic difficulties. 

notably, instead of cutting off ties, Wen and Alan leave room for friendship based on the mutual recognition of their past together and a relationship based on maintenance and care, which is important especially for queer people who may be estranged from biological family (it’s not lost on the viewer that Alan has no one but his sister-in-law to help with moving out). homophobic members of family are however muted and de-emphasized; MLC is much more interested in spotlighting Gaipa’s mom and Jam coming to terms with their sons’ sexualities.  

it’s also no wonder that at the end of the show, we don’t find Uncle Jim overhauling his life to create a different economic reality for himself. he is instead content to be providing for his newly enlarged family, as well as the rest of the community, as he repurposes his diner into a food truck. he parts ways with us on the following note: “I choose to sell Chicken Rice because it’s a simple dish consisted of four components: rice, chicken, broth, and sauce. It might only have four units, yet everyone’s definition of ‘delicious’ differs. Some love to eat chicken skin. Some love chicken thighs. Some don’t eat it with the sauce at all. Some love the hot broth. That’s what makes this simple dish stand out.”

and in a world where capitalism tells us to disrupt and innovate, this is, in fact, counterculture: the idea that a simple dish like chicken and rice shouldn’t be changed. that it is already great in and of its own, though it can look differently for everyone; it only requires us to have the right perspective and outlook to see its value. as Jim contemplates this throughout the show, it could be that the ‘right person’ and the ‘right time’ is right there in front of you, or at least that’s what i think that is what MLC tells us. that instead of fleeing and searching for growth elsewhere, the most radical act you can take against capitalist displacement is to firmly plant your roots where you are; to renew, regenerate, restore and rekindle your relationship to those around you, to your community and, most importantly, to yourself.

#some thoughts on the anticapitalism/community care in mlc #moonlight chicken #moonlight chicken meta #long post #bl.txt

[fractalkiss]

tag game - either or

tagged by @sweatyflytrap <3

hardcover or paperback? - paperbacks just feel right

bookstore or library? - both.

bookmark or receipt? - i lose bookmarks so receipts it is for physical books

stand alone or series? - i don't have the consistent reading habit to finish series anymore but ALSO it's because of the next question

nonfiction or fiction? - both but i think i read more non-fiction consistently than fiction at this point. i've been reading the tragedy of heterosexuality by jane ward on and off and how to do nothing: resisting the attention economy by jenny odell (for all of you girlsleep, girlrest, girlnappers out there against the busyness = productivity culture, lol but SERIOUSLY, it's a good book... ignore my sheer oversimplification of what it's about). for fiction, i've been reading anne carson's stuff lately and lolita and pale fire by nabokov, which i've been reading since like.....last year, on and off...nabokov is a crazy writer

thriller or fantasy? - i don't read much of either right now TBH but hypothetically, if i could call myself a Reader, then fantasy.

under 300 pages or over 300 pages? - i don't think it matters!

children’s or YA? - self-explanatory, perhaps??

friends to lovers or enemies to lovers? - you know the danmei novel scum villain's self saving system? it's a bit of both, but not quite. i hope this is very revealing about my recent tastes, sorry for being like this

read in bed or read on the couch? - we read to fall asleep babeyyy

read at night or read in the morning? - ^

keep pristine or markup? i love scribbling into physical books lol and i'm always taking notes in my ebooks.

cracked spine or dog ear? - both, though i don't dog-ear pages on my own copies, but i don't mind if i pick up a book that's already dog-eared.. it's very charming

tagging @eljibbity, @arborescendres, @lucirent, @fldx, @mxgicdave @wewentcarracing

#so curious but don't feel obliged to do this!! #tag game #if u can't already tell by my answers #i barely read lol

[doingthehardthings]

Sweet, sweet little life.

Met C. to play pool at a dive bar. I feel my shoulders relax a little when I'm with her--it's easy & fun: we laughed so hard I jumped out of the bar stool, circling it to sit back down & laugh some more. Long windows by the pool tables that they opened up: the breeze was taking my hair where it wanted to while we tallied our points: one win for me, two for her. I felt sexy & feminine, reaching over the pool table to aim & sometimes, get the ball to go where I wanted it to. Home to call a man who sang Mariah Carey with me, and talked at me through his mouth guard, and got quiet when I read him a poem.

-

Afternoon trip to the library yesterday, where I found two new books of poetry & is shame necessary & how to do nothing: resisting the attention economy. Walked a steady-paced hike 9 miles through m. valley trail, onto riverside: where I got caught in the rain & didn't care. Dinner at a gorgeous restaurant, where I got a hoppy octoberfest beer, an ahi tuna salad with a side of mac & cheese, & happily paid for my friend's bday meal. "are you ganna start dating again?" she'd asked me, and I said: not for a long time. It's the first time in my life I'm not surviving something, I said. I'm having fun.

-

Been playing Morrison's Warm Love in the mornings when I make my coffee: Inside it's warm love/& it's ever present, everywhere/ that warm love...

- It's been easier to wake up in the mornings. I sleep quickly & heartily at night. There's a man promising me a hug & a walk, & another teaching me how to hold his gaze without looking away, who's reminding me that a kiss can feel like being held up to the light.

--

I'm building a life I don't wanna escape from.

#love ethics #on living

[dearbisexual]

im attempting to read Jenny Odell's "How To Do Nothing" (anti-captialist book on resisting the 'attention economy') again. i think it's kind of above my current reading level, it's really ideologically dense and uses language im not totally used to parsing

but! i really want to read it, i really like Odell's thoughts. so Im Trying

#zee.txt #zee reads

[thelegendofmrrager]

Tag 9 people you'd like to get to know better.

i was tagged by @defunctdaze !! Thanks for still tagging me in shit even tho I absolutely SUCK at following thru it's still an honor to be mentioned 😌

Last song

Currently Reading

I suck at committing to a book so I'm hopping between 1 Dead in Attic: After Katrina by Chris Rose and How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell

Currently Watching

I've been on both a Golden Girls and Gilmore Girls kick recently (first time Golden Girls enjoyer, 2nd time Gilmore Girls enjoyer now that I've roped my friend into hate-watching it haha). Thoroughly enjoying Golden Girls bc these ladies are fucking iconic. The banter... the fashion... the bite and wit of it all

Current Obsession

Houghhh I've been really into analysis videos on infamous weather events (big tornados and hurricanes, etc). There's also some cool 1+ hour long vids ppl have uploaded to youtube of recorded newscasts of big storms that are intriguing to watch. There's something a little nostalgic about them; some of em are from the late 90s/early 2000s and spark the same kind of fascination in me as I had when I was a kid and would tune in to the news when a severe storm warning would hit our area

I'm tagging @dethblow @babyhellboy @death-of-astar @hifreqblade @princessmo @yaoi1992 @lilylizard @billyjoecobras @wariomolly if you're down :]

#tagged #YIPPEE finally completed one of these at long last #rowan thank u for tagging.. cormac mccarthy fuckin rocks #(i've only read the road but I've been meaning to dip my toes in to his other stuff)

[moregraceful]

tagged by @tapejob thank you friend!!

what book are you currently reading? - so many my god i am fully in start-and-never-finish mode. i'll say how to do nothing: resisting the attention economy by jenny odell. i like it - a lot of what she says really resonates as someone who grew up in the bay area and went into a field other than tech

favourite movie you saw in theatres this past year? - i have not been to a movie theatre since like 2018.

what do you usually wear? - jeans, a sports shirsey of some sort, and a sweatshirt (usually hershey bears, sometimes sf giants or be a good person.) i'm always like this is the year i level up in style!! and then i don't. but beryl gave me their red wings and docs so i am doing a little better in that regard

how tall are you? - 5'2"

what's your star sign & do you share a birthday with a celebrity or historical event? - matthew tkachuk, rat bastards only

do you go by your name or a nickname? - kasper, kas, it's all good. i have a couple friends who call me kk like the animal crossing guy.

did you grow up to become what you wanted to be as a child? - no lol i wanted to be an archaeologist. i can't even be like, i'm happier than i ever thought i would be :) bc baby kasper just wanted to dig in the dirt for bones and frankly nothing compares to the rush of digging a hole in my mom's garden bed

are you in a relationship? if not, who is your crush if you have one? - no

what is something you're good at vs something you're bad at? - good at being kind to others, bad at being kind to myself

dogs or cats? - i find both creatures fascinating but most of my family is allergic to cats so i'll go with dogs

if you draw/write/create in any way, what's your favourite picture/line/etc. from something you created in the last year? - i wrote way too much last year to the point that i get comments and kudos on fic i forgot i wrote. but i have been thinking abt the cale/devon presents fic a lot lately, specifically what the future of that universe would be, so:

“It’s a hell of a life if you can live it to the fullest,” says his Uber driver, abruptly. “Otherwise, it’s just hell.”

“I got a good life,” says Devon. [...] “I have no complaints about how things are turning out for me.”

“Good,” says his Uber driver. “That’s good.”

He pulls up in front of Devon’s apartment building. “Stay safe,” he says. “It’s a wild world out there.”

what is something you would like to create content for? - i'd love to write baseball fic ever again, but the vibes are on my team are atrocious and i don't know enough about other teams. i'd also love to do more art/fanart in general, but i have hard time being publicly bad at stuff even though i know that the only way you improve is to keep doing it

what's something you're currently obsessed with? - as of this month i'm on hockey fandom year 5 so i guess that. and i'm still on that watsonville sourdough

what's something you were excited about this past year that turned out to be disappointing? - hard to feel regret about my life in the last year. there's a lot of things i would and should have done differently and there's a lot in my life i want to change, but nothing really disappointed me i think

what's a hidden talent of yours? - i used to be a really good singer. pure soprano, incredible ear, strong head voice. [avatar voice] then everything changed when i started testosterone

are you religious? - yes and i honestly wish i wasn't sometimes bc being christian is so embarrassing like 95% of the time. but sadly i love jesus

what's something you wish to have at the moment? - blue jasmine tea ice cream. think i might go get some tomorrow as a reward for getting my tasks done

tagging whoever wants to do it!!! i love to hear your thoughts!!!

#fresno oilers.txt #the only 5% of the time being christian is bearable is either when i am deliberately ignoring the jesus fandom or singing hymns with my mom #the rest of the time i'm out here staring at conservative evangelicals like why are you so embarrassing. this is so embarrassing.

[luxe-pauvre]

Consider two things in tandem. First, people in wealthier neighbourhoods almost always have more access to urban parks and to parkland, on top of the face that such neighbourhoods are often in the hills or by the water. [...] Second, consider that while seemingly every kid in a restaurant is now watching bizarre, algorithmically determined children's content on YouTube, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs both severely limited their children's use of technology at home. As Paul Lewis reported for The Guardian, Justin Rosenstein, the Facebook engineer who created the "like" button, had a parental-control feature set up on his phone by an assistant, to keep him from downloading apps. Loren Brichter, the engineer who invested the "pull-to-refresh" feature of Twitter feeds, regards his invention with penitence: "Pull-to-refresh is addictive. Twitter is addictive. These are not good things. When I was working on them, it was not something I was mature enough to think about." [...] In their own ways, both of these things suggest to me the frightening potential of something like gated communities of attention: privileged spaces where some (but not others) can enjoy the fruits of contemplation and the diversification of attention. One of the main points I've tried to make in this book - about how thought and dialogue rely on physical time and space - means that the politics of technology are stubbornly entangled with the politics of public space and of the environment. This knot will only come loose if we start thinking not only about the effects of the attention economy, but also about the ways in which these effects play out across other fields of inequality. By the same token, there are many different places where manifest dismantling can begin to work. Wherever we are, and what ever privileges we may or may not enjoy, there is probably some thread we can afford to be pulling on. Sometimes boycotting the attention economy by withholding attention is the only action we can afford to take. Other times, we can actively look for ways to impact things like the addictive design of technology, but also environmental politics, labour rights, women's rights, indigenous rights, anti-racism initiatives, measures for parks and open spaces, and habitat restoration - understanding that pain comes not from one part of the body but from systemic imbalance. As in any ecology, the fruits of our efforts within any of these fields may well reach beyond to the others.

Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

#Jenny Odell #How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

[malanotte-had-a-bad-night]

I WANT TO be clear that I’m not actually encouraging anyone to stop doing things completely. In fact, I think that “doing nothing”—in the sense of refusing productivity and stopping to listen—entails an active process of listening that seeks out the effects of racial, environmental, and economic injustice and brings about real change. I consider “doing nothing” both as a kind of deprogramming device and as sustenance for those feeling too disassembled to act meaningfully. On this level, the practice of doing nothing has several tools to offer us when it comes to resisting the attention economy. The first tool has to do with repair. In such times as these, having recourse to periods of and spaces for “doing nothing” is of utmost importance, because without them we have no way to think, reflect, heal, and sustain ourselves—individually or collectively. There is a kind of nothing that’s necessary for, at the end of the day, doing something. When overstimulation has become a fact of life, I suggest that we reimagine #FOMO as #NOMO, the necessity of missing out, or if that bothers you, #NOSMO, the necessity of sometimes missing out. That’s a strategic function of nothing, and in that sense, you could file what I’ve said so far under the heading of self-care. But if you do, make it “self-care” in the activist sense that Audre Lorde meant it in the 1980s, when she said that “[c]aring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”

Jenny Odell. How to Do Nothing

#Jenny Odell #How to Do Nothing

[probablyasocialecologist]

On one level, it is obvious that this weekend’s violence began with the surprise assault from Hamas. But this line of thinking presupposes that everything in Gaza was peaceful until Hamas decided to disrupt that peace, or that no Palestinians have been dying at Israeli hands before the last two days. The reality is that Israel has been slowly killing all 2.3 million people in Gaza for the past 16 years, systematically subjugating Gazans to a series of apartheid policies that have affected the most basic details of our lives. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are also subjected to daily violence and degradation. The aim is to dispossess the Palestinians to the point that the people are left stranded with nothing but mere calls for the outside world to end what so many have called a form of “collective punishment.” Israel does everything it can to make life in Gaza unbearable. It controls all of Gaza’s water resources. It imposes illegal barriers on all the entry points to the strip, effectively trapping Gazans inside (though some of those barriers have been breached in the last two days). It controls the flow of goods and services in and out of the strip, leaving it with the unilateral power to cut those services off, as it is doing now. It purposefully throttles Gaza’s economy. Palestinians who require medical attention outside Gaza often face insurmountable obstacles in obtaining necessary care. Similarly, young Palestinians are routinely prevented from pursuing their academic dreams at international colleges simply because they had the misfortune of being born as Palestinians in Gaza. The people of Gaza endure daily hardships and injustices, yearning for a resolution that will allow them to lead dignified lives free from the burden of occupation and blockade. And when they do attempt to peacefully protest these conditions, Israel slaughters them in cold blood. So the real question should not be “Why is this happening now?” It should be “How did this not happen sooner?” No people can be expected to endure the kind of oppression and discrimination that Palestinians face at the hands of the Israeli government forever without any kind of response. While Israel claims to be waging war against Hamas and other Palestinian resistance factions, it seeks to justify its war crimes and engages in collective punishment against the Palestinian people.

#israel #palestine #zionism #gaza #west bank #emphasis added

[hiriaeth]

["... I am less interested in a mass exodus from Facebook and Twitter than I am in a mass movement of attention: what happens when people regain control over their attention and begin to direct it together, again. Occupying the "third space" within the attention economy is important not just because, as I've argued, individual attention forms the basis for collective attention and this for meaningful refusal of all kinds. It is also important because in a time of shrinking margins, when not only students but everyone else has "put the pedal to the metal", and cannot afford other kinds of refusal, attention may be the last resource we have left to withdraw. In a cycle where both financially driven platforms and overall precarity close down the space of attention-the very attention needed to resist onslaught, which then pushes further- it may be only in space of our own minds that some of us can begin to pull apart the links."]

How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, Jenny Odell

#Jenny Odell #quote #quotes #capitalism #attention economy

[cps-oteric]

I think often about how much time and energy we use thinking up things to say that would go over well with a context-collapsed crowd—not to mention checking back on how that crowd is responding. This is its own form of “research,” and when I do it, it feels not only pathetic but like a waste of energy. What if we spent that energy instead on saying the right things to the right people (or person) at the right time? What if we spent less time shouting into the void and being washed over with shouting in return—and more time talking in rooms to those for whom our words are intended?

- Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

#relevant quotes