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Are You Paying Attention?

Broadcaster

BBC Radio 3

TX Date

26th Feb 2018

Presenter

Madeleine Bunting

Producer

Kristine Pommert

Commissioner

Matthew Dodd

Writer and journalist Madeleine Bunting begins a week-long exploration of why attention has become a major social concern. Attention, she finds, is now big business – where we cast our eyes on a computer screen, and for how long, has become a key factor in advertising. Attention is something we both ‘pay’ and want to ‘attract’ – and for a journalist, Madeleine admits, it can be quite addictive. And, as so many people search for their 15 minutes of micro-fame online, getting as much attention as we can seems to have become a worldwide preoccupation. How worried should we be?