Your Attention Please

What happens when the technology designed to connect us begins competing for the one thing we can never get back-our attention?
Every notification demands a response. Every feed offers something new. Every swipe promises another moment of entertainment. And for millions of people, especially young people, the smartphone has become more than a device-it has become part of everyday life.
But beneath the convenience lies a deeper question:
Are we using technology, or is technology learning how to use us?
Your Attention Please: Inside The Digital Battle Over Social Media, Cyberbullying, Mental Health, And Human Connection takes readers behind the central issues explored in the documentary Your Attention Please, examining the growing struggle between human attention and an increasingly persuasive digital world.
From the economics of attention and algorithmic feeds to the realities of growing up online, this book explores what happens when digital platforms become intertwined with childhood, education, friendships, mental well-being, and everyday relationships.
At the heart of the story is Kristin Bride, whose son Carson experienced devastating cyberbullying before his death in 2020. His story became the catalyst for Kristin's advocacy for stronger protections for young people online, transforming personal grief into a wider conversation about digital safety and accountability.
But Carson's story is only one part of a much larger movement.
The book also explores Trisha Prabhu's ReThink, an innovative approach designed to encourage people to pause before posting potentially harmful messages; the work of technology critics such as Tristan Harris; the revelations brought forward by former Facebook employee Frances Haugen; and the growing efforts to create healthier relationships with smartphones and social media.
It examines the rise of phone-free schools, offline communities, digital citizenship, and the question of who should be responsible for protecting children in an increasingly connected world.
And then comes the next technological frontier:
Artificial intelligence. As AI becomes increasingly capable of generating information, images, conversations, and other forms of content, the questions raised by social media take on a new dimension. Could AI help create more human-centered technology-or could it make the battle for our attention even more complicated?
Inside these pages, you will explore:
The business of attention and why engagement matters so much
What it means to grow up in an always-connected world
How cyberbullying can transform digital spaces into sources of harm
Carson Bride's story and Kristin Bride's journey into advocacy
The development of ReThink and the power of a digital pause
What former technology insiders have said about platform design and influence
The growing movement toward phone-free schools and offline communities
The responsibilities of parents, schools, technology companies, and policymakers
The opportunities and risks emerging with artificial intelligence
Why reclaiming human connection does not require rejecting technology
How individuals and communities can begin taking greater control of their attention
This is not an argument that technology is inherently good or bad.
It is a closer look at the choices surrounding it.
Because the most important question may not be how much technology we use, but whether we still have the freedom to decide when, why, and how we use it.
The future will undoubtedly contain more technology.
The real question is whether that future will remain centered on human beings.
If you are ready to look beyond the screen and understand the battle for your attention, Your Attention Please
will take you there.
Don't just scroll past the conversation. Step inside it.
Buy your copy today and discover what it means to reclaim your attention in the digital age.