Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M4864

Attention Economy

Attention Economy
BusinessHigh supportEconomics
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

In the era of information overload, attention becomes the most scarce resource. Whoever can attract and retain users' attention can monetize it.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

The war for eyeballs. In the attention economy, content producers are not competing on 'content quality' but on 'attention duration'. This explains why short videos and clickbait are prevalent.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

In the era of information overload, information is no longer scarce but human attention is, so the core of economic activity shifts from producing information to capturing attention. Simon pointed out that abundant information creates a poverty of attention.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_economyZH · Explicit
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