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The Brain and the Heart: Our Need for Attention, the Desire for Connection and the Ongoing Work of Being Human in an Age of Distraction
Imagine walking into a cemetery and finding a headstone with the following words engraved in it:
“I should have spent more time following the every move of my favorite celebrity. No reception down here.”
Celebrity obsession has existed for as long as the entertainment industry has existed. No, that’s not right. For as long as humans have existed. In the smallest group of Neanderthals, there were celebrities. They swung the biggest clubs. They were the most beautiful.
We are designed to want attention, but it often becomes an overwhelming and deflating drug. Maybe there’s an impending backlash coming, but it seems likely that the majority of today’s younger people in technology-driven societies will equate online influence and engagement with some significant amount of self-worth. Not all kids growing up now. But most.
Viral videos. YouTube kid stars opening toys. Look at me! Look at what you don’t have and what I have! Teens scanning obsessively through their “likes.” It didn’t happen if there’s no picture or video. I need evidence I exist. It’s been three minutes since I texted and no reply!
