How Attention Economy Is Becoming the Main Source of Income for the Young Population

For too long, social media apps have been constantly tweaking their algorithms as the only way to keep users hooked and sell more ads. But attention spans are decreasing as people no longer feel comfortable giving their attention and receiving nothing in return. They demand a seat at the table.

“In low-income countries, young people are increasingly seeking new innovative ways to supplement their income and improve their lives. And there are many examples around the world, from Nigeria to Argentina and India. GameFi (game finance) offers a unique opportunity to develop an attention economy model that encourages these communities to monetize their attention and build a solid stream of income.” Iurii Kardonov, co-founder of Cheelee.

What’s Attention Economy

Attention economy centers on the idea that human attention is a scarce commodity. The limiting factor in the modern digital economy isn’t information. Instead, money is made by capturing and keeping user attention as much as possible.

The battle for user attention has spurred the attention economy. Digital consumers are human first and only have so much attention to give. As a result, companies use this concept to reduce human users to mere eyes to monetize rather than equal participants in the economy.

Facebook, for instance, claims to “give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.” But in reality, the company is only interested in increasing user engagement and growing its ad revenue. Features like “News Feed” only became a mainstay because it successfully increased the amount of time users spent on the platform.

Facebook is just one example. Rather than satisfy a user’s interest, YouTube’s goal is to increase the number of videos watched by prioritizing videos that elicit strong emotional responses. Other platforms also use similar tactics to “steal” users’ attention.

The ferocious battle for human attention hurts younger generations rather than benefits them. And since attention is a finite resource, we must manage it wisely by focusing on what matters. That means putting a price on our attention instead of giving it for free. When you pay attention to something, you’re contributing your energy to it. So it’s only fair that you’re compensated for giving it.

Ways of Earning for Young Generation of Developing Countries

The majority of youth in developing countries do not have stable economic opportunities. One-third of Africa's youth population is unemployed and discouraged. In Latin America (LATAM), that figure stood at 21.6% in 2021. There are not many opportunities for the young generation in these countries to generate income. As a result, many turn to freelancing, OnlyFans, and TikTok to provide for themselves and their families.

However, freelancing is not the magic ticket out of poverty and freedom. Getting clients challenging, the competition is fierce, and it's difficult to stand out sometimes. This uncertainty puts freelancers from poor countries in survival mode. Either offer your services for dirt-cheap rates or keep getting ignored. Hardly a sustainable way to grow your income.

Making a living out of OnlyFans and TikTok can be tricky too if you don't have a large following. In fact, the top 1% of OnlyFans creators receive a third of the platform’s earnings, while the top 10% get a whopping 73% of revenue. The same trend persists on TikTok. Not a single TikTok creator from Africa, LATAM, or Southeast Asia made the "Top-Earning TikTok-ers of 2022" list, which collectively earned $55.5 million.\

As it stands, the average person from a low-income country does not earn enough on these platforms to survive.

To empower young creators to earn a living from web3, Cheelee hopes to change this rampant pay inequality, starting with monetizing attention. With Cheelee, everyone can watch and make money.

How Cheelee Beats the Poverty

Cheelee combines GameFi mechanics and the power of human attention to create earning opportunities for young people in developing countries and beyond. Game finance typically refers to the dynamic combination of gaming and decentralized finance. In its simplest form, it pays users to play games. However, with Cheelee, you get paid for giving your attention.

We’re living in an age of attention-grabbing, non-stop notifications, filled up inboxes and tracking by apps and an unrelenting stream of content. It’s no surprise that the average consumer spends 474 minutes a day on digital media. What if there was a way to convert this too much attention into money?

Cheelee is a short form video content platform that allows anyone to earn money from watching videos and playing games. This approach allows under-privildeged communities to monetize their attention, generate income and escape the poverty trap. Unlike other social networks that treat users as a means for gathering data for advertising purposes, Cheelee is a community-driven platform where every user is a member, a partner, and a beneficiary.

Here’s how it works three simple steps:

1. Sign up on Cheelee app and get free NFT glasses to start with.

   
   

2. Watch the feed and get the boxes with LEE tokens (in-app tokens). You will earn LEE from the boxes that drop within 30 minutes of watching the feed.

   
   

3. Once your tokens drop, feel free to withdraw or exchange for real-world currency such as USD.

   
   

You can also increase your earnings by leveling up your starting NFT glasses.

1. Simply buy the new NFT glasses directly from the app using LEE tokens.

   
   

2. For each level up you will get points.

   
   

3. Allocate the points to NFT glasses modules. You can also upgrade the module using Gems (special NFTs).

   
   

4. Allocating points increases your income.

   
   

5. Buy additional NFT glasses to increase the amount of Attention and rewarded time of watching the feed. 1 Attention is equivalent to 5 minutes of rewarded feed viewing. More Attention means more income for you.

Conclusion

If you’re a fan of short videos, stop wasting your time and energy on apps that won’t compensate you for engaging with their content. Join Cheelee to earn extra money and boost your income.

Cheelee is now available to both Android and iOS. Also, check out our community airdrop to claim your share of the $5 million prize pool when you create or watch short videos on Cheelee.