To refuse “to believe that the present time and place, and the people who are here with us, are somehow not enough” and to reclaim ownership of our most precious commodity-our attention.
In an age when every part of our lives is judged by our productivity, Odell acknowledges the appeal of a weekend retreat or Facebook detox, and challenges us to do something more profound: to retreat in our minds. means giving yourself the critical break that media cycles and narratives will not, allowing yourself to believe in another world while living in this one.
Our current situation is not unique, Odell says, and retreating in space-physically opting out of whatever we perceive to be the problem-neglects our responsibility to the very society we are so fed up with. In How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy (which, blessedly, does not suggest scheduling “nothing” time), artist Jenny Odell, a lecturer in Stanford’s art and art history department, explains humans’ perpetual desire to escape the pressures of society and its increasing obsession with productivity. This is my oddball version of running off to join a commune. But it’s a weird fantasy that in actuality would be a living hell, so I don’t tell people about it. Everything about modern society has failed, and my family’s sole mission is to pool food with neighbors and survive. When I’m stressed, I fantasize about the Big One hitting the Bay Area.
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