Stealing back our attention one pledge at a time
What are you willing to give up to get your attention back?
As part of DISTRACTION, artist Laura Allcorn invites visitors to take part in a collective experiment: the world’s first Pledge Drive for Attention. At a desk designed for reflection (and a little bit of satire), participants commit to breaking habits that quietly shape their days. And it’s working: the Pledge-O-Meter has already reached 12 years, 4 months, 27 days and 15 hours of reclaimed attention – and it’s still growing, with every new promise added.
The pledges gathered here are small, specific and strikingly familiar: no doomscrolling, no Instagram, no phones before bed, fewer tabs, less YouTube. Behind each one is a quiet ambition—to sleep better, think more clearly, make time for board games, learn something new, or simply be more present.
“My phone is evil!”
“I deserve restful sleep”
Together, they form a growing record of resistance against the attention economy, echoing decades of research by Gloria Mark into how digital distraction fragments our focus. Enjoy these handwritten notes – glimpses of the lives people want to reclaim.
Individually, these pledges might seem modest. Collectively, they begin to add up – to years of attention redirected toward what matters most.
This is the ambition behind Pledge Drive for Attention: to steal back time, together. Whether it’s a better night’s sleep, a new skill, or a moment of stillness, each commitment is a step toward a different kind of digital future – one shaped not by endless scrolling, but by intention.
Add your pledge while you still can. DISTRACTION is open until 2 May 2026.