Fashion, Celebrity, and Entertainment: Attention Economy and the Rise of Indonesian Middle-Class Muslims

Abstract

People are constantly craving for attention. People often have to divide their attention towards many different subjects (and
their own personal daily life) – attention, then, has become a thing to compete for and it has become limited. In today’s
world, it is often deemed that the economy is driven by “the production and exchange of information than by the production
and exchange of material goods.” However, it is actually the attention of the customer/audience, in its limited state, that
leads to the competition for attention to keep the economy running – thus, the concept of ‘Attention Economy’ – where it is
considered as a form “currency between industries/individual to industries/individual.” Using Davenport and Beck’s concept
of “Attention Economy” as the point of departure, this paper endeavors to showcase the understanding of the interplay
between industries and the audience – the Indonesian Middle-Class Muslims. Locating the issues in the contexts of the
Fashion, Celebrity, and the Entertainment industries, the paper then analyzes the benefit and the possible effects of the
industries’ practice of the concept – in terms of their focus allocation in gaining and sustaining attention of the audience.
Keywords: Attention Economy; Audience; Celebrity; Fashion; Middle-Class Muslims