The Pursuit of Attention
Power and Ego in Everyday Life

Illustrating "conversational narcissism" with sample dialogues, this book analyses the pursuit of attention in conversation - as well as in politics and celebrity culture - and demonstrates the importance of gender, class, and racial differences in competing for attention.

"Enough about me," goes the old joke, "what about you? What do you think about me?" Hence the pursuit of attention is alive and well. Even the "Oxford English Dictionary" reveals a modern coinage to reflect the chase in our technological age: "ego-surfing" - searching the Internet for occurrences of your own name. What is the cause of this obsessive need for others' recognition? This volume features introductory and concluding essays, and ponders this question. Derber argues that there is a general lack of social support in today's America, one which causes people to vie hungrily for attention, and he shows how individuals will often employ numerous techniques to turn the course of a conversation towards themselves. Illustrating this "conversational narcissism" with sample dialogues that may seem disturbingly familiar to all readers, this book analyses the pursuit of attention in conversation - as well as in politics and celebrity culture - and demonstrates the ultimate importance of gender, class, and racial differences in competing for attention.