From Wonder and Fascination to Engineered Attention
Technology used to pull us in through curiosity and discovery. Now, it’s designed to hold our attention, often without leaving us satisfied.
When Technology Invited Us In
There was a time when technology felt like magic. A new device or app could pull you in completely, not because it was trying to sell you something, but because it opened a door. You were immersed, curious, and excited to explore. That feeling is harder to find now.
Near the end of their conversation on the TechSploder podcast, Lexy Savvides and Jason Howell discussed how that early sense of wonder has been replaced.
“The platforms and tools we have are not necessarily engineered to create the wonder anymore,” Lexy said. “They’re engineered to create the attention-grabbing nature of it.”
Jason added, “It's more, I think now, over an engineered addiction.” The technology may be engaging, but not in a way that satisfies you.
“Locked In” with Curiosity, Not Just Dopamine
What Lexy and Jason discussed took me back to some of my own experiences, moments where I was fully locked in, not because something was manipulating my attention, but because it genuinely pulled me in with curiosity, creativity, or emotional connection.
One of the first examples that comes to mind is playing Silent Hill or Halo. Hours would fly by as I figured things out, solved problems, explored new worlds, and tested ideas. It wasn’t about grinding or chasing rewards. It was mentally engaging. I was thinking, learning, and challenging myself.
Many years ago, I worked a very repetitive job that I actually enjoyed, and it paid surprisingly well for the time—washing semi trucks for six months. The task itself was exhausting and tedious, but I had a waterproof MP3 player and some headphones. That little device became my entire world during those shifts. I was completely absorbed in the conversations I was listening to, from podcasts to audiobooks. I felt mentally alive, even while enduring the physical labour.
What stands out to me now is the simplicity. That MP3 player couldn’t do anything else. It wasn’t a smartphone. There were no push notifications, Social Media, or temptation to check six other apps. You could only listen. Like Lexy’s Discman and stack of CDs, that simplicity and intentionality was part of the magic.
She put it well: “You could sit and just listen to an album from start to finish.”
There were no distractions. No feeds to refresh. Just a direct connection to the artist’s work, and your own thoughts alongside it. I absolutely did the same thing. And yeah, those devices were cheap and prone to breaking, but they were single-purpose. Focused. And I miss that. It makes me a little emotional, actually thinking about it.
The Toll of Constant Micro Attention
Today, it feels like so much mental energy is spent juggling apps, tabs, notifications, and updates.
I’ll admit it, Social Media can completely absorb me, though I deliberately spend much less time on now. It’s fast, it’s responsive, and as someone who prefers communicating through the written word, I find it hard to resist.
I often got into long conversations when Twitter was still useful and about legitimate conversations and connections. I developed real-life friendships where we knew each other before the first time we met. I can’t begin to express how much taking that pressure off meant to me as an introvert.
Since then, I have rarely felt satisfied with my time on social media. It’s mostly just divisive crap and attention seeking. Some good people are there, but it’s not what it used to be.
It reminds me of when I was younger and could spend hours with real friends, talking, laughing, and creating memories in the same physical space.
We used to spend energy that way. Now so many of us leak energy across dozens of micro-interactions with no lasting impact, and often feeling at a loss as to why we feel so exhausted all the time until we stop and think about it.
I honestly can’t imagine trying to get through school today with the constant distraction and pressures of smartphones and Social Media.
They absolutely have their place, and for many people, especially those with limited access, a smartphone is their only computer. But the way these devices are designed, the constant pull, the intentional, yet subtle manipulation of attention, it’s hard not to feel like something is been taken from us.
What We’ve Lost in the Shift
Lexy said it plainly: “We still have the ability to [experience wonder]. It’s just that the platforms and the tools are not necessarily engineered for that anymore.”
Today’s tech often tries to maximize engagement instead of fostering discovery. They know they can manipulate us and monetize us. It was never free.
Instead of expanding our imagination, it shortens our attention span. I honestly can’t stop thinking about the “attention economy,” a phrase I’ve heard, and how many of us, including me at times, are trapped in it when we let it happen.
When Tech Still Feels Magical
I’m always amazed and elated when technology feels magical again.
Recenty, I had to help my Mom with her computer from a distance. Between RemotePC, Zoom, and our smartphones, we connected, shared screens, and solved her problem together. It took multiple tools and more steps than it should, but the fact that we could do it at all amazed me.
Even when something isn’t complicated. I’ve had many moments with technology or helping clients with it over the years where the simplest thing in my mind, an action that I take for granted most days, had a big impact on their life. That has kept me humble and that means the world to me.
I Felt Like I Knew How To Use It
This all reminds me of something Lexy said about her first time in front of a computer: “I immediately felt like I knew how to use it.”
Hearing that still makes me emotional. That happened to me too.
The first time I used a computer, and especially the first time I bought the parts, built my own, and got Windows (XP, sigh) up and running, it just clicked. It made sense. It was life-changing. I figured things out fast, and I treasure those moments.
Part of me wishes it hadn’t been technology that had that effect on me, but it was.
It’s important to be curious. I want to understand how something works. There’s an attention to detail about it, a sense of workmanship. But more than anything, there’s passion.
Passion for the tools, respect for the process, helping others, and discovering something new. In those moments, I’m not “locked in” because I’m addicted, I’m locked in because I care, and there is tangible benefit to it.
Wonder Isn’t Gone, We Just Need to be More Intentional About It
Lexy and Jason both made this clear: we haven’t lost the capacity for wonder. It’s still there.
But it’s harder to access in a system built for attention. And maybe it’s up to us to go looking for it, and be much more intentional about it, whether that means slowing down, simplifying, or seeking out the kinds of tech that leave us feeling more capable, not more distracted.
Sometimes, that means using our devices less, not more.
I deleted my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. Sometimes we just need to walk away. My business is no longer on Social Media, and I’m personally careful about spending time on Bluesky and Mastodon.
Wonder used to be the point. And if we’re deliberate about how we use our attention and our tech, it still can be.