Attention Economy
Noun · Hacker Culture
Definitions
The idea that human attention is a scarce resource that platforms, products, and media compete to capture and monetize. In tech culture the phrase often comes up in critiques of feeds, notifications, advertising, and design incentives.
In plain English: The system in which companies compete for and profit from people's attention.
Example: "The product critique focused on how the attention economy rewards compulsive engagement even when the user experience feels worse and less healthy."