Londontown 4: Attention please!
Written by S. Hargis
Apparently there is no such thing as a ‘geek’ anymore. In my day, Macs were the shape of E.T’s head and admitting you chatted online was reputation suicide. Therefore somewhere in the back of my mind, way back past all the security codes and passwords, flows an undercurrent of mistrust of all things digital.
This outdated attitude of mine is ever challenged in a city of technology and change. London is a leading digital capital; you can post your drunken musings on interactive buildings or download the official iPhone App compilation that accompanies the exhibition you’re viewing. So much information, entertainment and exchange is online and hand-held. Social media channels are the accepted forum for the majority of our communications and personal archiving. People seem to be constantly uploading their musings, opinions and experiences ad nauseam.
I’ve been trying to imagine the way the art world may evolve alongside this highly selective and immediate way of absorbing culture. We are undoubtedly and rapidly changing the way we process information. So what kind of an audience are we threatening to become?
Information was once only available through generally reputable sources with learned expertise. Articles were lovingly researched and required substance in order to be published. Now, everything is online and online information sources have a tendency to summarise and skim, drastically compromising context. Unfortunately convenience, entertainment and speed are commonly placed above fact. It appears that what we gain in freedom and diversity in our digital world, we pay for with inaccuracy.
We are also slimming down our general knowledge banks via the tempting ability to be extremely selective in what we learn. We customise everything from the news we read to the TV we watch. We are no longer subjected to standardised information and I can’t help but wonder if we are enabling ourselves to develop severe tunnel vision.
Our attention as an audience is a powerful resource and, to ensure they get their share, all sectors are desperately pandering to our online behaviour and tastes. From big brands to arts institutions, businesses have settled into our social digital spaces and are vying for our allegiance. Social media sites all have highly developed ‘analytics’ tools to help brands observe and predict just exactly what you are looking at, where you have come from and how long you cared to look. Companies which utilise this previously untouchable insight have become frighteningly responsive and fluid. Our interest is the most valuable asset in the marketplace and I fear we are being trained to become an increasingly self centred, greedy and impatient audience.
I am always amused, when I attend an opening, at how people tend to look more at each other than the artwork; I guess to make that comment I must be doing it myself. Now, as an audience we really are being watched as we watch, and this constant digital surveillance and analysis of our activities is magnified by real world circumstances. If London can be used as an example of how cities might evolve across the globe, it’s worth noting that our travel-cards are traceable, our phones all have geolocation and there are over 200,000 CCTV cameras watching the streets.
I am left thinking that our digital world is essentially a mirror, and what it comes to reflect will depend entirely on where we choose to focus that precious attention, and what level of quality we will demand.
Top 5 ways to increase that fragile attention span:
5. Examine a single artwork for 30 minutes straight.
4. Write your texts without abbreviations or incorrect spelling for a whole day.
3. Stare at the ceiling for those ten minutes after your alarm goes off instead of snoozing.
2. Watch Lord of the Rings ‘Return of the King’ in slow motion (even normal speed will stretch your patience).
1. Don’t read ‘Top 5’ lists.
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