How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

At the heart of the book is the idea that technology has created a situation in which companies permanently vie for our attention, mostly through social media that cash in on it. This “attention economy” heightens people’s anxiety and feeling of malaise by thriving on fear and using the principles of behavioral science, while companies like Facebook and Twitter—whose sole purpose is creating attention—make money on advertising. It leaves people feeling empty and powerless, and this is what Odell wants to change in a two-step process: (1) disengaging from the attention economy and (2) redirecting our attention in a more fulfilling way through slower, local, purposeful interaction within a defined physical area.

This is a kind of philosophy for living formed in the 1970s but according to Odell is informed by the practices of Indigenous peoples. The idea is to live in harmony with all life-forms within natural areas defined loosely by geography. The focus is not just on the environment, however. Instead, it also encompasses political and economic systems as well as cultural practices. It encourages an awareness and stewardship of the land and, because each area is unique, discourages a homogeneous, “one size fits all” approach.