Praatten

Praatten is a neologism used in speculative fiction, cultural theory and some online communities to denote a patterned practice of reciprocal attention and resource exchange that functions as social bonding. The term is most often applied to imagined or emergent social systems where attention itself has explicit economic or ritual value, treated alongside material goods and formal obligations.

Etymology and usage

The word blends ideas of "pragmatic" exchange and "attention" and appears mainly in creative writing, game design, and theoretical discussions about attention economies. Authors and designers use praatten to explore how societies organize relationships, trust and authority when attentional acts are quantifiable or ritualized.

Characteristics

Praatten practices are typically characterized by formalized tokens or gestures, time-bound commitments, and shared narratives that legitimize transfers of attention. They may include ceremonies, negotiated contracts, or informal norms that allocate heels of attention among individuals or groups. Variants range from intimate dyadic exchanges to public displays that reinforce hierarchy.

Cultural significance and critique

As a concept, praatten helps analyze contemporary concerns about social media, surveillance and commodified attention. Critics argue the term can obscure material inequities by overemphasizing symbolic exchange, while proponents value its utility in modeling novel social dynamics in fiction and policy thought experiments.