No one is protecting your attention

Last week, Meta paid about $17 billion to settle a lawsuit that said its apps harm kids. The case was about children, but we all know it isn't only them. Adult attention is being worn down the same way. I read the news and mostly just shrugged, and I caught the quiet thought under the shrug, the one I've carried since I was a kid: if this were really that bad for us, surely someone wouldn't allow it.

I've been trained my whole life to believe there's an adult in the room (or a God playing puppet master). A regulator, a company, a court, something watching what's allowed and stepping in when things go truly wrong. And there's a real comfort in that. It feels safe to believe someone bigger is minding it all. But there's no saviour coming. No superhero, no prince charming. Meta is just one example. We're told these apps are here to help us, to keep us connected, that it's all about friends. But we know that's the myth. Our attention is the product, and fear is how they keep it coming.

Taking responsibility for my own attention can feel scary. If no one else is going to protect it, then I have to, and part of me reads that as a threat. But I'm learning that what a part of me calls fear is really my freedom. So this week I keep asking myself three plain questions, and maybe they're yours too.

Where do I hand my attention over without thinking?

Where does part of me still hope someone else is looking out for me?

Where am I giving a little of myself away?

No one is coming to answer these for you, and no one is protecting your attention. It's yours. It always was. You can start taking it back the next time you reach for your phone.

No one is protecting your attention but you. And somewhere, you already knew that.

Mentioned: NPR - Meta, states agree to $17 billion settlement in child safety trial →

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