Reclaiming Atention: A Christian Perspective Prioritizing Relationships in the Design of Technology

Christianity maintains that God calls people to build loving relationships across three spheres: with himself, with other people, and with creation. Building relationships in any of these contexts requires attentiveness, but in the attention economy, technologies (and their makers) often regard human attention as a commodity to be monetized, leading to designs that maximize engagement and direct user attention to advertisements. As attention is a fnite resource, these design tactics directly undermine the relational investments that Christianity claims give us “life in abundance” (John 10:10). Novel work in human-computer interaction (HCI) shows that this situation does not have to be the norm. Research prototypes have, for example, facilitated the emotional regulation necessary for opening one’s heart to God, fostered closeness between loved ones, and increased children’s focus on the natural world. Thus, supporting the world’s two billion Christians in living out their faith is within reach but requires committing to an HCI design agenda that facilitates attentiveness instead of plundering it.