Saint Teresa and the Global Attention Economy
Why the smallest acts of love matter more than ever.
I remember writing down my thoughts in a notebook. For years, I held a pen and wrote them down, paying close attention to what I was thinking before putting my words on paper. Now, I grab my phone and hurriedly type my thoughts. It is a way to capture fleeting ideas and return to them later. But every time I reach for my phone, I remove myself from the physical world.
The mobile devices we all own have become integrated into our lives. It’s hard not to reach for it the moment I wake up. I’ve got emails, texts and notifications just waiting to tell me something. But every time I reach for my phone, I’m not just checking something—I’m paying for it with my attention.
The Attention Economy
Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) said, “Don’t look for big things, just do small things with great love… The smaller the thing, the greater must be our love.” (Source: Come Be My Light)
This is a remarkable quote, especially in today’s connected digital world. First of all, who wants to do small things? Even if they are “small,” I doubt any of us think of what we do as small. And how do you do such things with ‘love?’
Attention.
Attention is the currency that matters. Love flows through doing—through action—which requires attention. But if your attention is constantly shifting, how do you actually do things with great love?
I cannot imagine a world without my mobile phone. I’m the typical user of the device and have no desire to give it up. According to ConsumerAffairs.org in March 2025, on average, mobile phone users look at their phones 144 times a day. Assuming you are awake for 16 hours a day, that’s nine times every hour or once every seven minutes.
The same report shows that Americans spend an average of 4 hours and 30 minutes on their phones and is up 52% from 2022. This means our day is sliced into seven-minute chunks and never fully settles into anything. Instead, when we pick up our phones, we divert our attention to it for almost two minutes.
Here’s what Americans are doing with their phones according to the report:
The list isn’t shocking — but when you see it in one place, it’s startling how little of it involves anything human.
I reflect on the above list and try to imagine Saint Teresa doing any of these things. Our time is precious. Saint Teresa spent her attention on small things, but on things that mattered: people. Her actions weren’t digital; they were physical acts of love.
The Global OS and Saving Our Humanity
So, what can we do in this age of progress? Mobile devices have inserted us into what I call the Global Earth Product (“GEP”)— the engine that wants more output from all of us.
The GEP demands more and more of our attention. And it will find ways to extract it in both our personal and professional lives. New devices, capabilities, entertainment and robots will be coming to make the world a better place. We won’t need to do dishes or fold our clothes. What will we do instead? I’m sure the list will be long. The GEP must continue to grow, after all.
Let us cure disease and live healthier and longer lives. But progress that demands our attention also costs our humanity. Though the advances seek our immediate adoption and ever greater consumption, it is our personal choice to moderate and place our attention towards what matters: loving one another.
We have to progress with moderation.
But what happens when economics—not love—becomes the world’s operating system? An OS—a global culture that seeks efficiencies and flows money and resources to and through societies in order to achieve the highest GEP. And what happens then?
Change. A lot of change. And all at once.
But while the global OS demands our use of the major advances in devices and AI, how we spend our attention is a personal choice. In those small decision moments—the ones nobody sees—remember the words of Saint Teresa: “Don’t look for big things, just do small things with great love… The smaller the thing, the greater must be our love.”
This is the way to live and love. This is the way to saving our humanity.
Peace.