Next Read-along: The Sirens' Call by Chris Hayes
Examining 'How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource'
Given how much I’ve been covering the topic of citizenship lately, it’s about darn time I addressed one of its biggest obstacles: screens.
My series on citizenship so far:
Let’s read a book together!
In The Sirens’ Call, Chris Hayes builds on the ideas of Marshall McLuhan’s The Medium is the Message and Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death to present a 2020s viewpoint of our attention economy (spoilers: he thinks it looks bad).
Here’s how the publisher sells it:
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and MSNBC and podcast host, a powerful wide-angle reckoning with how the assault from attention capitalism on our minds and our hearts has reordered our politics and the very fabric of our society.
So in this read-along of Hayes, we will explore the effects of our phones, feeds and unlimited screens on our ability to be good citizens. After all, how can we be a functional, informed citizenry if a large chunk of our day is stolen away in ways which make us exhausted, depressed and angry at one another?
This is one of the implicit topics of Hayes’ book, and he writes about it on good authority: his own experience as a cable news host. Along the way, he argues the labor alienation found in the writings of Marx can be applied to the realm of attention. Towards the end, he offers some tips on how we can reclaim agency over our attention again.
Is this book earth-shattering? No. But it’s argued well and draws on intellectual history, personal experience and modern psychology.
Is the book well written? Yes. It’s easy reading. Stimulating without overwhelm. Anyone who’s read in this genre (bordering intellectual diatribe and self-help) should feel comfortable. Similar titles would be Omnivore’s Dilemma, Breath, Decadent Society, Why Buddhism Is True.
Is this book relatable? Yes-ish. You aren’t a cable news host, presumably. But this book isn’t about navigating the world as a seeker of attention; it’s about navigating as an agent of attention (your own).
If this sounds like your cup of tea, here’s the read-along schedule:
Oct 10 - Chapters 1 and 2
Oct 17 Chapters 3 and 4
Oct 24 Chapters 5 and 6
Oct 31 Chapters 7 and 8 (final)
Tell me: what would you like to get out of this read-along? If you already have an opinion of Hayes or the book, drop it below!
See you for installment one soon!
Heads held high, happy warriors. Later y’all.
-Will
If you’d like to catch up on my writing on citizenship, start here:
I also touch on the topic of citizenship in this video essay: