the engagement economy

"You're in a grocery store, and there are so many things to look at. Usually, of course, you're looking for the thing you need-whatever's on your shopping list or your recipe for tonight. Other times, you're distracted. Your gaze is drawn to the thing you suddenly want -the flashy bag of chips placed at eye level. These are only the most obvious options. I like to play a little game in the grocery store where I pretend to be someone else entirely."

"If I'm looking as an "employee," for instance, I notice the items that are low on stock; the other customer trying to find help; the fallen cereal boxes in aisle five. Or if I'm looking as a "health inspector," I notice the defibrillator on the wall; the thermometer on the refrigerator; the mouse droppings on the floor. The point is that "looking" isn't arbitrary: it's conditioned by what we're trained to look for."

In a grocery store, visual attention focuses on expected objects like items on a shopping list, while distractions attract sudden desire, such as a flashy bag of chips. Adopting alternative roles—employee or health inspector—reconfigures perception toward stock levels, safety equipment, or messes. Looking is conditioned by training and expectations, making it impossible to perceive everything simultaneously. Changing expectations allows deliberate redirection of attention to new things. Advertisements aim to hijack these expectations, steering perception toward marketed products. Online platforms optimize for sustained attention using engagement metrics like watch time, shares, and likes, though engagement measures interaction rather than raw attention.

Read at Substack