Uploaded December 2018 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The emerging monetisation of your emotions.
Did you see Episode 4? youtu.be/sYJ_0QqU8cs
SUBSCRIBE to BrainCraft! 👉 ow.ly/rt5IE
We’re in the middle of an Attention War – where big tech battle it out to win over our eyeballs. Our attention spans are considered a precious—and scarce—commodity. So what is the price of your attention? In this mini-series, we'll explore the psychology, design and impact of tech and social media on both ourselves and society. The last episode will be released next Friday.
This week we explore the emerging monetisation of your emotions. Many thanks to Jaron Lanier, Guillaume Chaslot and Zeynep Tufekci for their expert contributions to this episode.
My Twitter twitter.com/nessyhill | Instagram instagram.com/nessyhill
BrainCraft was created by Vanessa Hill (@nessyhill) and is brought to you by PBS Digital Studios. Talking psychology, neuroscience & why we act the way we do.
This mini-series was created by:
Vanessa Hill - Director, Presenter, Co-Producer
Margie Bryant - Producer
Aline Jacques - Post Producer
Bahar Gholipour - Associate Producer
Dominique Taylor - Editor
Stephen Boyle - Legal and Business Affairs
James Hutson - Animator
Field Producers - Bahar Gholipour, Georgia Quinn, Mehrnaz Farahmand
Crew - Finn Boyle-Moore, Jacques Lang, Tim Oxford, Trace Dominquez, Alex Rapine, Andy Kulikowski, Angelina Bruno
John Hresc - Sound Mix
Andrew Arbuthnot - Investment Manager, Screen Australia
Adam Dylewski - Programming Director, PBS Digital Studios
The emerging monetisation of your emotions.
Did you see Episode 4? youtu.be/sYJ_0QqU8cs
SUBSCRIBE to BrainCraft! 👉 ow.ly/rt5IE
We’re in the middle of an Attention War – where big tech battle it out to win over our eyeballs. Our attention spans are considered a precious—and scarce—commodity. So what is the price of your attention? In this mini-series, we'll explore the psychology, design and impact of tech and social media on both ourselves and society. The last episode will be released next Friday.
This week we explore the emerging monetisation of your emotions. Many thanks to Jaron Lanier, Guillaume Chaslot and Zeynep Tufekci for their expert contributions to this episode.
My Twitter twitter.com/nessyhill | Instagram instagram.com/nessyhill
BrainCraft was created by Vanessa Hill (@nessyhill) and is brought to you by PBS Digital Studios. Talking psychology, neuroscience & why we act the way we do.
This mini-series was created by:
Vanessa Hill - Director, Presenter, Co-Producer
Margie Bryant - Producer
Aline Jacques - Post Producer
Bahar Gholipour - Associate Producer
Dominique Taylor - Editor
Stephen Boyle - Legal and Business Affairs
James Hutson - Animator
Field Producers - Bahar Gholipour, Georgia Quinn, Mehrnaz Farahmand
Crew - Finn Boyle-Moore, Jacques Lang, Tim Oxford, Trace Dominquez, Alex Rapine, Andy Kulikowski, Angelina Bruno
John Hresc - Sound Mix
Andrew Arbuthnot - Investment Manager, Screen Australia
Adam Dylewski - Programming Director, PBS Digital Studios




![Stop Trying to be Happy (do THIS instead)
MY PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/BrainCraft
And please consider SUBSCRIBING to BrainCraft http://ow.ly/rt5IE (and ring that bell 🧠)
Visit http://www.brilliant.org/braincraft to keep learning (and the first 200 people will also get 20% off their annual premium membership!)
The pursuit of happiness is futile. And psychology suggests that identifying ways you are content is a better way to achieve well-being.
MINDFULNESS RESOURCES:
Body scan meditation https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/body_scan_meditation
Mindful breathing https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/mindful_breathing
Loving kindness meditation:
https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/loving_kindness_meditation
More BrainCraft: The Myth of Type A Personality
https://youtu.be/8Lxq_Tsi6XE
CHAPTERS:
0:00 Can I Ever be Happy?
1:05 Definition of Happiness
1:32 The Happiness Pie
2:05 The Happiness Pie has Flaws
3:52 The Key to Long Term Well-Being
4:20 How to be Content
5:39 Can You Shift Your Expectations?
Music by Epidemic Sound: http://epidemicsound.com/creator
My Twitter https://twitter.com/nessyhill | Instagram https://instagram.com/nessyhill
REFERENCES 📚
Lucas, R. E., Clark, A. E., Georgellis, Y., & Diener, E. (2003). Reexamining adaptation
and the set point model of happiness: reactions to changes in marital status. Journal of
personality and social psychology, 84(3), 527–539. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-
3514.84.3.527
Sheldon, K. M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2019). Revisiting the sustainable happiness model
and pie chart: Can happiness be successfully pursued? The Journal of Positive
Psychology. Advance online publication.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.1689421
Cordaro, D. T., Brackett, M., Glass, L., & Anderson, C. L. (2016). Contentment:
Perceived completeness across cultures and traditions. Review of General Psychology,
20(3), 221–235. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000082
Cordaro, D., 2020. What If You Pursued Contentment Rather Than Happiness?.
[online] Greater Good. Available at:
<https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_if_you_pursued_contentment_r
ather_than_happiness> [Accessed 16 July 2020].
Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The
architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9(2),
111–131. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.111
Mauss, I. B., Tamir, M., Anderson, C. L., & Savino, N. S. (2011). Can seeking happiness
make people unhappy? Paradoxical effects of valuing happiness. Emotion, 11(4),
807–815. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022010
Klug, H.J.P., Maier, G.W. Linking Goal Progress and Subjective Well-Being: A Meta-
analysis. J Happiness Stud 16, 37–65 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-013-
9493-0
McKenzie, J. (2016) Happiness Vs Contentment? A Case for a Sociology of the Good
Life. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 46: 252– 267. doi: 10.1111/jtsb.12098.
Jebb, A.T., Tay, L., Diener, E. et al. Happiness, income satiation and turning points
around the world. Nat Hum Behav 2, 33–38 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-
017-0277-0
IMAGE SOURCES 🖼
https://pixabay.com/vectors/passenger-car-automotive-car-150155/
https://pixabay.com/vectors/bulb-edison-incandescent-lamp-160854/
https://pixabay.com/vectors/trophy-achievement-award-cup-merit-153395/
https://pixabay.com/illustrations/career-success-path-stair-3386334/
https://pixabay.com/vectors/car-red-driver-gentleman-affluence-160343/
https://pixabay.com/vectors/boy-cartoon-comic-characters-comics-1296198/
https://pixabay.com/vectors/wedding-rings-marriage-wedding-152336/
https://giphy.com/gifs/loop-happiness-loading-MTKsRM3QzNeOI59SbO
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Declaration_of_Independence.jpg Stop Trying to be Happy (do THIS instead)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IGHKaI6_WSk/mqdefault.jpg)





