The Mind Palace

I often wonder how dramatically our attention span has declined over the years, dropping from an average of around forty seconds to less than ten. This is undeniably concerning, yet for me it also sparks curiosity, a desire to understand how our minds truly operate. I admit, without hesitation, that I have become part of this pattern myself. In that sense, I do not observe it merely as an outsider, but as someone with both experience and personal data drawn from it.

Social media is a peculiar space. We share stories, posts, fragments of our lives, often surrendering our privacy with remarkable ease. Yet this is not the aspect that troubles me most. What truly intrigues me is the urge behind it. Why do we feel compelled to post our lives, our experiences, our thoughts, even advertisements of ourselves, while remaining largely indifferent when it comes to observing the lives of others?

This is where what Daniel Kahneman refers to as System 1 in Thinking, Fast and Slow takes control. System 1 is fast, automatic, impulsive, and effortless. It allows us to react instantly without reflection, which in the digital world often means scrolling mindlessly, consuming content without genuine awareness. We become active in behaviour, yet passive in thought.

An informal experiment from my own experience revealed something striking. Approximately 86% of my followers are inactive, for various reasons. Around 14% view my stories, yet only 2.5% interact at all. On average, engagement represents roughly 10% of those who actually see the content. Interestingly, this could already be considered above average. Even after experimenting with different content and aesthetics, the results changed very little.

It is difficult to neatly label these behaviours, yet through logical reflection, a few conclusions emerge. The human mind has become inactively active. We believe we are acting out of choice, when in reality we have trained our minds to respond automatically. These actions demand so little effort that they barely register as intentional. As a result, productivity declines, passivity increases, and perhaps, without realising it, we become easier to control.

It is difficult to definitively judge the intentions behind the creation of modern technology. Many theories exist, but without concrete evidence, theory alone is insufficient to reach firm conclusions.

Still, the question remains. Why do we feel such a strong urge to share our lives while paying so little attention to the lives of others?

As always, the pattern repeats itself.

We see, but we do not observe.

— H.S