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Attention and Alienation: The International Political Economy of Information and Communication Technologies
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 3, 2025
attention and alienation examines the intricacies of attention mining and its widespread effect and impact in our world today. grounded by the author's personal experiences growing up in kathmandu, nepal, most notably in a culturally significant "baun" family, this book explores personal and collective attention's equivalence to marx's definition of labor. the concept of attention as a resource is not new, but bhandari's juxtaposition of its exploitation by the ruling core (i.e. powerful nations, big tech firms, etc.) specifically in developing countries uncovers some hard hitting facts. the idea of "development" (in the context of third world countries like nepal where the author originates from) being akin to a soft, more palatable version of colonization is alarming, but rings true to me, as someone who also grew up in kathmandu, nepal. bhandari's position that "development" makes the rich richer and poor poorer is a truth that i, myself, have seen all around me all my life. i attributed this unfortunate outcome to ineffective or insufficient action, but the possibility that this may well have been the INTENDED outcome is evident through her research. the book is quite upsetting in that regard. it evokes a sense of rage and helplessness that has nowhere go.
in spite of it all, bhandari is hopeful in considering solutions for this conundrum. the state of the world we live in today is harrowing. our attention, our very personhood, has been commodified by the powers that be. they leech off of our sense of self, diminish our capacity to live happy, full lives, then turn around, and try to sell us products with the promises of expanding that capacity. humanity has never been as connected, yet ironically, it has also never before been this disconnected. bhandari suggests that the only way to fight back is through healing and self-love. she is right about it too. her own story of coming from a background that perpetuated suffering, her self-awareness and refusal to let it define her one way or another, and her staunch insistence on living an intentional life convinces the reader to take the same intentional approach to reclaiming their attention, their lives.
with thoughtful, well-researched analyses and a compelling personal narrative, attention and alienation should be a must-read for every single one of us, who possesses attention and has the privilege to choose where that attention is expended.
5 🌟
in spite of it all, bhandari is hopeful in considering solutions for this conundrum. the state of the world we live in today is harrowing. our attention, our very personhood, has been commodified by the powers that be. they leech off of our sense of self, diminish our capacity to live happy, full lives, then turn around, and try to sell us products with the promises of expanding that capacity. humanity has never been as connected, yet ironically, it has also never before been this disconnected. bhandari suggests that the only way to fight back is through healing and self-love. she is right about it too. her own story of coming from a background that perpetuated suffering, her self-awareness and refusal to let it define her one way or another, and her staunch insistence on living an intentional life convinces the reader to take the same intentional approach to reclaiming their attention, their lives.
with thoughtful, well-researched analyses and a compelling personal narrative, attention and alienation should be a must-read for every single one of us, who possesses attention and has the privilege to choose where that attention is expended.
5 🌟
June 16, 2025
Attention and Alienation is both an important book in its field and a roadmap for the future of sociological writing.
First, the analysis of the attention economy grapples with “the internet” in a multifaceted way not beholden to old conceptual models as culture, economics, tech etc have blended together in hyperreality. This book is part of a new vanguard charting territory for exploring the diffuse and ubiquitous layer of our social reality that intersects with the above categories while also rewriting the rules. Likewise the book adapts older theoretical models like Marx to a contemporary age akin to the scholarship of Mark Fisher, an influential and pioneering thinker (despite being often overlooked in “official” scholarship.)
Following this lineage while also breaking new ground, Bhandari employs nearly every method known to sociology to make her case- including robust quantitative scholarship, qualitative analysis of internet “spaces”, and ethnographic reflection on her past to orbit the multidimensional force the internet has become. The result is a book capable of grappling with the DFW-style “water” we are swimming in- a world mediated entirely by screens.
Structurally, the book develops new models for sociology in the way fiction writers like Zadie Smith have done for literature- hyperlinking between levels of analysis and observations in a way that is not the “linear” exploration of the 20th century but rather meeting the internet where it is at- everywhere and nowhere.
All this and yet somehow it manages to be just as rigorous as the many much more boring technical sociological works, and 100 times more fun, moving, and magical than them all.
First, the analysis of the attention economy grapples with “the internet” in a multifaceted way not beholden to old conceptual models as culture, economics, tech etc have blended together in hyperreality. This book is part of a new vanguard charting territory for exploring the diffuse and ubiquitous layer of our social reality that intersects with the above categories while also rewriting the rules. Likewise the book adapts older theoretical models like Marx to a contemporary age akin to the scholarship of Mark Fisher, an influential and pioneering thinker (despite being often overlooked in “official” scholarship.)
Following this lineage while also breaking new ground, Bhandari employs nearly every method known to sociology to make her case- including robust quantitative scholarship, qualitative analysis of internet “spaces”, and ethnographic reflection on her past to orbit the multidimensional force the internet has become. The result is a book capable of grappling with the DFW-style “water” we are swimming in- a world mediated entirely by screens.
Structurally, the book develops new models for sociology in the way fiction writers like Zadie Smith have done for literature- hyperlinking between levels of analysis and observations in a way that is not the “linear” exploration of the 20th century but rather meeting the internet where it is at- everywhere and nowhere.
All this and yet somehow it manages to be just as rigorous as the many much more boring technical sociological works, and 100 times more fun, moving, and magical than them all.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews