The Attention Economy | Ela Nur Halil | TEDxUskudar American Academy Youth
In today’s world, our most valuable resource isn’t gold, oil, or even money it’s attention. This talk explores the rise of the attention economy and how it mirrors a new form of digital feudalism. Just as serfs once worked the fields for lords, we now generate endless streams of data for tech giants, often without realizing it. Through stories, metaphors, and real-world examples, this talk reveals how platforms harvest our behavior, shape our choices, and even manipulate our sense of reality. But it’s not all doom and gloom by becoming aware of these hidden systems, we can reclaim our attention, protect our focus, and decide how we truly want to spend our most finite resource: time. Ela Nur Halil is a 9th-grade student at Üsküdar American Academy. She is enthusiastic about using technology to support underprivileged communities. As a member of her school’s debate club and Türkiye’s national debate team, she is passionate about the intersection of social sciences and data analysis in solving real-world challenges. Beyond academics, she is deeply engaged in tango and playing the piano. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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