The Economy of Eyeballs: Why Attention Is the Real Power
Senator Cory Booker Didn’t Just Break a Record - He Broke the Spell of Distraction. Our Attention Is Power. Spend It Wisely.
In today's world, we don't just spend money; we spend attention. Eyeballs are the new currency, with platforms clawing for every second of our gaze.
World leaders, public figures, platforms, even entire institutions, rise and fall based on who’s watching. Influence isn’t just measured in wealth anymore, but in views, followers, likes.
Viral is the new valuable.
Long before algorithms and ad revenue, ancient civilisations understood the power of the gaze.
In ancient Egypt, the Eye of Horus wasn’t just an archaic security cam - it symbolised divine perception, cosmic oversight. To be under its gaze was to be seen by the gods: held accountable, given meaning. They didn’t worship the eye because it was pretty. They worshipped it because it watched. It knew. And to be perceived? That was sacred.
Even modern money carries this idea. The Eye of Providence on the U.S. dollar? That’s no design accident. It’s a not-so-subtle reminder: power belongs to those who see, and those who own where we look.
Today, it’s not wealth that creates influence - it’s the other way around. And influence? It’s built on attention. Whoever commands your gaze, commands your mind. And whoever commands your mind, eventually commands your wallet - and your world.
That’s how we ended up in an era where the richest people on Earth aren’t just tech moguls - they’re attention barons. One turned a social media platform into his personal megaphone, tweeting market-shaking brain blurts in under 280 characters. Another built a digital empire so sticky, it can tilt elections and light matches under civil unrest.
These aren’t just platforms. They’re attention engines.
And their creators are billionaires because they figured out the secret: we don’t pay them in money - we pay them in time. And time, as they say, is money. Especially when it’s being harvested, chopped, and sold to the highest bidder.
Some of the most powerful people alive have turned attention-seeking into performance art, tossing chaos and controversy like confetti to keep the spotlight locked on them. They’re not here to inform. They’re here to dominate the feed. Because the algorithm doesn’t care about truth - only traction. Outrage spreads faster than nuance, and it grabs attention. And if you can control attention you can control the world.
But not all use this power to fan the flames of fear, fighting and friction.
Just today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker flipped the script by holding the floor for 25 hours straight, breaking a record not just for spectacle, but for substance.
In a world hooked on distraction, he commanded attention, not with a meltdown,
not with a circus act, not by yelling “fire” in the theatre of public discourse. He commanded attention for good.
For hope.
For change.
For love.
He didn’t break the system. He hacked it.
And it was a masterclass in how to spend the rarest currency wisely: focused attention.
Here’s the truth most people miss: attention isn’t just a resource.
It’s a weapon.
A prayer.
A mirror.
It makes kings, moves markets, and rewires minds. And the more we understand that, the less power we give away without realising it.
In a world this uncertain, our rising heroes won’t be the ones who fight for attention, they’ll be the ones who learn how to guide it. To use it for truth. For change. For good. Not for ego, noise, or chaos.
And we must learn to spend our attention like it matters - because it does.
That means amplifying voices that don’t shout the loudest, but speak with integrity.
It means pausing before sharing rage-fuelled content designed to divide.
Choosing long reads over hot takes. Conversations over cancelations.
Shining a light on creators, thinkers, and leaders who build, not burn.
We must learn to guard our attention like the sacred resource it is. Curate our feeds like it’s our mental diet. Unfollow what numbs. Follow what nourishes.
Notice when we're being pulled, and learn to pull ourselves back.
Because every click is a vote.
Every share is a signal.
Every view is a seed.
And what we water grows.
In this world built on spectacle, the rarest power of all is focus with purpose. So we must choose our gaze like it’s a compass. Point it at what matters. And don’t just look. See.
Because in the end, our attention is our power. So spend it like it’s sacred.
Because it is.