Individual fixes cannot solve attention extraction because the problem is structural

Evidence

Promises of silver bullets abound, but none will suffice, because there are no quick fixes to a challenge at this scale. No app is going to save us, because there is no “tech fix.” No drug is going to heal us, because there’s no “Big Pharma fix,” either. And don’t hold your breath for a regulatory fix, because, in the end, no law is going to be able to protect us…enough. Self-help regimens and yoga retreats are all well and good, but they are never going to be enough. So go ahead and practice mindfulness, or support sane legislation to fight back against “dark patterns,” or try a digital detox. Take your kid to the zoo, for that matter, and try leaving the phones at home. But ultimately the issue at hand isn’t going to be solved at the level of individual actions. The problem isn’t personal. It is structural and systemic. Indeed, no larger or more complex “system” has ever been achieved by human beings. — The Friends of Attention, Attensity!, 209

Categorization

• QUESTION: The claim ‘no larger or more complex system has ever been achieved’ is startling — is that meant literally? Worth checking against the internet, global shipping, or financial networks.
• XREF: connects to: The fix for attention problems is collective attentional freedom, not individual span