The Sirens' Call

Hayes’s concept of Alienation and Loss of Autonomy in the Digital Age draws heavily on both historical analogies and contemporary examples to show how our minds—and thus our very sense of self—have become commodities in the modern attention economy. Rather than allowing individuals to choose how and where to focus, today’s digital platforms are specifically “designed to prey upon, to cultivate, distort, or destroy that which most fundamentally makes us human” (13). With this deliberate wording, Hayes points to the pervasive, near-inevitable sense of psychic intrusion we face when confronted by round-the-clock notifications, algorithmic feeds, and other digital demands.

He emphasizes that these intrusions reflect more than a loss of personal willpower; they arise from a larger commercial infrastructure that regards our attention as an exploitable asset. Hayes cites the analogy “We used to colonize land…They are now trying to colonize every minute of your life. They’re coming for every second of your life” (88) to illustrate how every moment of mental stillness—or the potential for deep focus—is systematically invaded. By framing attention as a finite resource, the book reveals how the “free” services we rely on exact a steep cognitive toll: the more time we spend scrolling or clicking, the less true agency we retain.