The Attention Crisis

Shariq Ali
Valueversity

It is one o’clock in the morning. A young person opens their phone with the intention of spending “just a few minutes.” One video leads to another, then a third, then a fourth. By the time they finally turn off the screen, an entire hour has passed. They can barely remember what they watched or why they watched it. All that remains is the feeling that their attention, time, and mental energy have been wasted somewhere along the way.

This is one of the defining problems of our time: the attention crisis. In today’s age of social media, this issue has become more important than ever.

In my view, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube are neither entirely bad nor entirely good. The real question is: what purpose are we using them for?
If our purpose in life is clear—if we know what we want to learn, which field we want to grow in, and what our core values are—then these very platforms can become gateways to extraordinary knowledge.

Through experts like Neil deGrasse Tyson, Brian Cox, and David Attenborough, we can develop a deeper understanding of the world.
But if our purpose and values are unclear, algorithms begin to buy our attention. They pull us into their grip.

There is a dangerous truth here:

If we cannot control our attention, someone else will eventually turn it into their source of income.

That is why the solution is not to abandon social media, but to use it wisely.

Reduce unnecessary scrolling.

Give time to your relationships.

Spend some time every day completely away from the digital world.

And focus your mental energy on your greater purpose.
Your attention is… your future.