Business Quote by Franklin Foer
““The tech companies are destroying something precious, which is the possibility of contemplation. They have created a world in which we’re constantly watched and always distracted. Through their accumulation of data, they have constructed a portrait of our minds, which they use to invisibly guide mass behavior (and increasingly individual behavior) to further their financial interests. They have eroded the integrity of institutions—media, publishing—that supply the intellectual material that provokes thought and guides democracy. Their most precious asset is our most precious asset, our attention, and they have abused it.””
About This Quote
Source Article: “The Attention Merchants” (2020) by Franklin Foer
Tech firms monetize attention, eroding contemplation and institutional integrity, steering behavior for profit.
In simple terms: Tech hijacks our focus for profit.
Key Takeaway
Guard your attention.
Themes
technology
attention economy
media integrity
Mood
critical
concerned
Type
analytical
cautionary
When to use this quote
- political discourse
- personal productivity
- media consumption
Key Concepts
surveillance capitalism
behavioral manipulation
democratic risk
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you reclaim your attention?
- What habits protect against distraction?
A Different Perspective
Not all tech is harmful; some can enhance focus.
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)