Do we have your attention? New literacies, digital technologies, and the education of adolescents

This chapter is based on the idea that a new kind of economy - an attention economy - is currently emerging, which will become increasingly dominant in the future (Goldhaber, 1997). We will explore this idea in relation to new literacies and digital technologies from the standpoint of formal school-based -learning opportunities available (or not available) to adolescents being educated in contemporary classrooms. After introducing the concept of an attention economy in some of its main variations, and considering some of its surrounding theory, we will address three key questions about the relationship between education and the attention economy: I. What significance do digital technologies have for paying, attracting, and maintaining attention? 2. What significance do new literacies have for effective participation in an attention economy? 3. What do findings from 1 and 2 above imply for formal education?