“Hey, babe, I just bought some new CDs. Wanna listen to them at my apartment?”
That line is from a 1994 soap opera I was rewatching the other day.
In today’s world, where any song is just a few clicks away, this invitation sounds laughable.
But back in the 90s, it made total sense. After all, CDs were expensive and high-quality music was scarce.
And, thanks to our biological programming, we tend to value what’s scarce. We can’t help but fall prey to the classic “We only have a few units left! Grab yours!” Scarcity bias is a powerful beast.
Now think with me. What’s scarce these days?
What about attention? Yes, good old attention. Eye to eye, you know?
Tell me you wouldn’t value the uninterrupted attention of someone who puts their phone face down — and actually listens to you.
See? Scarcity increases value, and always will.
But there’s a drawback in our programming: we tend to undervalue what’s readily available.
And although we can’t completely override it, we can — with the help of our highly developed neocortex — conclude that some common things are indeed valuable.
Like listening to good music in good company.
—
This post was previously published on medium.com.
Love relationships? We promise to have a good one with your inbox.
Subcribe to get 3x weekly dating and relationship advice.
Did you know? We have 8 publications on Medium. Join us there!
***
–
Photo credit: Rhamely On Unsplash
