The Truth About Attention

In today’s newsletter, Jonathan Blitzer analyzes the early effects of the Trump Administration’s immigration policies. But, first, Daniel Immerwahr asks if we are thinking about the attention economy all wrong. Plus:

From the pianoforte to the smartphone, each wave of tech has sparked fears of brain rot. But the problem isn’t our ability to focus—it’s what we’re focussing on.

In the nineteenth century, the author Nathaniel Hawthorne warned of an invention so powerful that socializing would be “chilled with a fatal frost,” and we could lose all ability to converse with one another. It was not the Internet, or even the radio, he feared, but the introduction of the iron stove. Debates about how new technologies might affect our attention have existed since long before the advent of TikTok and Instagram, and they’re often more nuanced than detractors such as Hawthorne would like us to believe. “Distraction is relative,” Daniel Immerwahr writes, in a piece for this week’s issue. “To be distracted from one thing is to attend to another.” Immerwahr takes stock of the ever-growing catalogue of literature about our dwindling attention spans, arguing that the knowledge class—journalists, artists, professors, novelists—are probably among the most vocal critics of our “distracted” age because people are no longer paying as much attention to their particular kind of work. “When someone calls for audiences to be more patient,” Immerwahr notes, “I instinctively think, Alternatively, you could be less boring.” Read or listen to the story »

In his first days back, the President has already pulled the U.S. out of the World Health Organization, tried to cancel the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, declared an emergency at the southern border, and taken aim at diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. It’s clear: “Trump remains a pugilist who sees politics as a series of battles, whether consequential or very, very stupid,” Susan B. Glasser writes. “He has already shown that, in Trump 2.0, as in his first term, he will seek out fights wherever he can.” Read the column »

Letter from Trump’s Washington, Susan B. Glasser’s column on politics in the nation’s capital, publishes on Thursday evenings.

P.S. The Kansas City Chiefs will appear in their seventh consecutive conference championship game on Sunday. If they win, they’ll move on to compete in their third straight Super Bowl. “The Chiefs’ victory felt inevitable, in the same way that their presence in the Super Bowl was inevitable,” Tyler Foggatt wrote of last year’s big game. “The N.F.L. loves a good dynasty, even if no one else does.” 🏈