attention economy

Popularized by Thomas H. Davenport and John C. Beck in the book The Attention Economy (2001).

attention economy (countable and uncountable, plural attention economies)

1. (economics) An economic system where human attention is a scarce and monetized resource, driving competition among businesses, media, and digital platforms.
   • 2001, Thomas H. Davenport, John C. Beck, The Attention Economy: Understanding the new currency of business, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, →ISBN, page 3:

     Understanding and managing attention is now the single most important determinant of business success. Welcome to the attention economy.

   • 2025 July 8, Ezra Klein, quoting Kyla Scanlon, “How the Attention Economy Is Devouring Gen Z — and the Rest of Us”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     There will always be pockets that exist outside of the attention economy. But more and more, things are falling within the purview, including politics.

     (Can we archive this URL?)

• attention economy on Wikipedia.Wikipedia