How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell

summary

Meandering through a variety of subjects and ideas, How To Do Nothing examines how the attention economy — a lucrative system that profits from human attention — keeps us disconnected from ourselves and our surrounding environment. A variety of topics are explored, including the Zhuangzi, communes, Epicurus, Diogenes, performance art, college meme accounts, and many others, all of which provide their own insights on the human experience. Odell does not suggest removing oneself completely (deleting social media, moving to a cabin in the woods), but rather existing within a system while actively resisting it.

Often the notion of capitalistic productivity is examined and we are urged to question to what and to whom we are useful for. Odell points to our shortened attention spans and our struggle for reason within context collapse as potentially critical hindrances to meaningful collective change. When do we have time for deep contemplation when the goal of our technologies is to keep our attention for as long as possible? We are urged to find time and space (perhaps with an 'architecture of nothing,' such as public rose gardens) away from the attention economy, where we can fully consider the issues at hand and contemplate them within our community, whether in agreement or opposition.

insights for the climate crisis

If our attention is drawn away from our screens, something else will occupy it’s place. Odell suggests rerooting ourselves in community, both with humans and nature alike. Bioregionalism — a focus on the area directly surrounding oneself — presents a way towards appreciation and stewardship of the land, where awareness equates to responsibility. Learning the names of each plant species in your neighborhood, the migration patterns of local animals, and the source of your water supply are just a few examples. Often overlooked, or at least not given the attention they deserve, the lack of knowledge on these subjects further disconnects us from a sense of ownership over our lives and a society ready to take meaningful action.

Odell presents another reality: while we are distracted, we never have time to contemplate and discuss the problems at hand. Without the space and time to let ideas incubate, we cannot develop movements powerful enough to change the course of society, let alone holistically understand the problems at hand. Throughout human history, we have seen many such movements. However, with the fairly recent development of addictive technology and the attention economy, this kind of civil action may no longer be attainable—unless we critically examine the attention economy and recognize how our distractions inadvertently support the systems we oppose.

Throughout How To Do Nothing, an underlying theme is ever-present: the beginning of change starts at the most localized level—within ourselves. Turning our attention inward, appreciating life on a planet brimming with life, requires summoning the strength to disengage from the attention economy. As promised by Odell, a plan of action is subtly laid out: begin with ourselves, then extend to our bioregions, build a community empowered with agency, and perhaps, from there, we can catalyze the change needed to save the planet. Fortunately, paying attention is contagious; once we start, it becomes difficult to stop.

resonant lines

I fully understand where a life of sustained attention leads. In short, it leads to awareness, not only of how lucky I am to be alive, but to ongoing patterns of cultural and ecological devastation around me—and the inescapable part that I play in it, should I choose to recognize it or not. In other words, simple awareness is the seed of responsibility.

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supportive media

Stand Out of Our Light | James Williams | TEDxAthens (TEDx Talks)

Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing - XOXO Festival (2019) (XOXO Festival)

citations

Odell, Jenny. How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy. Melville House, 2019.

further reading

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence by James Bridle