{"id":80085,"date":"2026-04-20T00:04:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T04:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=80085"},"modified":"2026-04-20T00:04:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T04:04:22","slug":"attention-economy-training-informed-consumers-is-a-priority-for-media-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/attention-economy-training-informed-consumers-is-a-priority-for-media-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Attention economy: training “informed consumers” is a priority for media education"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nIn Media and Information Literacy (MIL) courses, the emphasis is ostensibly placed on “critical thinking,” that is, the ability to take a step back from information and form a well-founded opinion.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what about the skill of “informed consumption,” that is, the ability to reflect on one’s consumption, choices, needs, and budgets with full knowledge of the facts, and to assert one’s rights? This is much more often relegated to the back burner. Yet it is included in the\u00a0Council of Europe’s\u00a0<\/span>digital citizenship education program.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

The landmark case<\/span><\/a>\u00a0won by a consumer of Meta’s (Instagram and Facebook) and YouTube (a Google subsidiary within Alphabet) apps illustrates its power to influence. The jury ruled in favor of the plaintiff, finding that these platforms had caused her harm due to the product design, whose features and functionality led to mental health problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the first time that digital addiction has been recognized as a severe dependency leading to compulsive behavior, without substance use. This opens up possibilities for action in classrooms. How can we turn the attention economy against those who manipulate and monetize it?<\/span><\/p>\n

In media and information literacy (MIL), critiquing the attention economy requires understanding the strategies platforms use to capture and maintain user interest, ensuring\u00a0<\/span>advertisers’ messages<\/span><\/a>\u00a0leave a strong and repeated impression and encourage purchases. The skill of “informed consumption” reminds users that they are not simply an audience, but both consumers and citizens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Building the user as a consumer and citizen, and not as a simple user, requires recognizing their capacity for autonomous action, i.e., recourse, and their capacity for group action, i.e., protest, or even conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n

Defining “informed consumption”<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

For American consumers, the legal avenues are clear and well-defined, as they allow for both legal action and filing customer complaints with a recalcitrant company. This has undeniable benefits for some:\u00a0<\/span>KGM could receive $6 million from Meta and YouTube<\/span><\/a>\u00a0in compensatory and punitive damages.<\/span><\/p>\n

For European consumers, the means of action are less clearly defined, even though the platforms are managed by the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG Connect), which intertwines content and its transmission. The repertoire of actions against platforms is largely controlled by states, which tends to disempower, or even absolve, consumers and, consequently, citizens.<\/span><\/p>\n

The regulations put in place by the Digital Services Act (DSA) (2024) require algorithmic transparency: very large platforms (more than 45 million monthly active users) must publish\u00a0<\/span>quarterly reports detailing their recommendation algorithms and amplification metrics<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, which exposes their functionalities without however forcing them to change them.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the user side, the DSA creates the status of trusted whistleblowers \u2013 these are organizations recognized for their expertise in detecting, identifying, and reporting illegal or harmful content. The solution for the consumer is therefore to identify these whistleblowers and contact them. In France, the media regulator, ARCOM, designates\u00a0<\/span>these bodies that can act on behalf of users . <\/span><\/a>Addictions France<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, for example, is\u00a0one of them, as is\u00a0<\/span>Indecosa CGT<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, which advocates for consumer rights.<\/span><\/p>\n

Questioning the figure of the user<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

The platforms seek to\u00a0<\/span>put the user in the physical and psychological condition to use the screen<\/span><\/a>\u00a0. This relationship establishes a direct sharing contract, often sealed by “general terms and conditions of use” (GTC) that are illegible, especially to minors, which give the platforms broad control over the data given in exchange for “free” access.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the United States, this sharing agreement was tested in 1996 and again in 2012 through “web blackouts.” Internet companies displayed a black screen on their homepages or suspended their services to\u00a0<\/span>protest proposed legislation<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that threatened their freedom of commerce. In 1996, they thus obtained immunity under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. In 2012, they succeeded in having the SOPA anti-piracy law repealed, a law that aimed to expand copyright enforcement powers to combat online infringement.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the name of freedom of expression and online consumption, they encouraged users to sign petitions, boycott companies that did not follow the movement, and demonstrate in the streets to show their support for the platforms and thus obtain the withdrawal of the proposed legislation. In Europe, this repertoire of actions was used far less.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the conditions of use have deteriorated, and with them the status of users, who have become\u00a0<\/span>hidden workers<\/span><\/a>\u00a0, contributing their attention to enrich the platforms. Likes are transformed into hard cash through search engine optimization and product placement; content creation is considered a form of free writing, which violates labor law, especially when it involves minors.<\/span><\/p>\n

To raise awareness of the role of advertisers and shareholders<\/span><\/h4>\n

In media and advertising integration (MAI), it’s also about revealing what’s really going on behind the scenes. Advertisers and shareholders are two invisible but crucial players in the attention economy. As the primary payment method for media in a competitive commercial system, advertising integration dictates attention-grabbing features, such as recommendation algorithms, push notifications, infinite scroll design, viral formats, and clickbait headlines.<\/span>
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