Because that's what you are. It's what we all are, with rare exceptions.
That's not exactly true. Your whole being is not necessarily being traded on the free market of the Attention Economy. But your attention is. And to the extent that your attention is linear and finite, you are being exploited, with zero compensation for your attention.
That's wrong. Or at least it is my thesis that it's wrong. Your attention has value and you deserve to be compensated for it. At a minimum, you should deny your attention to those who would exploit it (social and mainstream corporate media, and its neediest and most obsequious characters) until/unless you are compensated for it.
My attention costs $60/hour ($1/minute) and I will gladly sell my attention to any buyer for that price. Social and mainstream media presume to demand your attention FOR FREE! And perhaps there is value in that for you. You get to use social media applications FOR FREE because the companies that make those apps are SELLING YOUR ATTENTION to other companies (advertisers) willing to pay a premium price for your attention. But...you are seeing NONE of that monetary compensation. Does that seem fair to you?
Perhaps your attention (and the time you spend sacrificing it on the alter of the attention economy) could be better spent creating REAL VALUE for you. Here are some ideas:
Read books.
Learn a skill or hobby.
Exercise.
Go out to eat.
Make a meal at home and enjoy it.
Have sex.
Walk in nature.
Meditate.
Play board games with friends and/or family.
Learn/play a sport with friends/family.
Those are just a few ideas that popped off the top of my dome. I'd now ask/challenge you to compare those ideas with whatever value it is that you think you get from social/mainstream media. Please share in the comments.
And...GO!
Fin.