“The urge to belong
is universal. So would a better understanding of it help tackle loneliness –
and explain why stalkers, spree killers and jihadists turn their pain on
others?”
By: Leo Benedictus
Published: The
Guardian, 5 Feb 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/feb/05/crimes-of-attention-stalkers-killers-jihadists-longing
Level of Difficulty:***
BEFORE YOU READ
·
How To Address Inappropriate Attention-Seeking
Behaviors
·
Dealing with Attention Seeking Behavior
QUESTIONS
Read the first two
paragraphs and answer the questions:
1.
Mark Zuckerberg, probably established Facebook
because he knew…
2.
Understanding what people need attention for
would help get a better perspective on…
Read from the
beginning of paragraph three (Attention…) to the end of the paragraph beginning
“People who feel…”
3.
Craving the attention of others has an
evolutionary value because if people were not created the way they are…
4.
The positive attention people get from others
should be…in order not to create anxiety. That can only happen if those
providing the attention …
5.
Why is the Red Cross involved in the study of
loneliness?
Read from the
paragraph beginning “The word loneliness…” to the end of the paragraph
beginning “Some lonely people themselves…”
6.
What misconception does the writer correct?
7.
What does “which” refer to in the phrase “which
is where the belonging comes from”
8.
The difficulty in getting more attention is that
you can’t…
9.
Assuming that….is unfair but it is ingrained in
people as a species
10.
Acting up in a classroom and similar disruptive
behavior can be seen as an example of an effort to…
Read from the
paragraph beginning “One way to seek attention…” to the end of the paragraph
beginning “Now Jewitt…”
11.
Read Jewitt’s story to the end. What was Jewitt
referring to when he said “but it is hard to tell the difference”? Explain.
12.
What does “that crap” refer to?
13.
Which of the following are true according to
this section:
·
Jewitt and Thurlow are still good friends
probably because they really got to know each other
·
Jewitt’s attitude to followers on Instagram underwent
no radical change
·
Jewitt’s shares on instagram are more public
spirited than they used to be
·
Jewitt is more interested in presenting himself
as he is than he used to be
14.
What does “This” refer to in the phrase “This
corrodes your feeling of belonging”?
15.
Some murderers try to get actively involved in
the investigation, they try and make contact with the police. The crimes they
commit could be described as ….and one reason they commit the crimes could be…
16.
The two types of stalker described in the text
have something in common. What is it?
17.
What surprising revelation does Spitzberg make?
Read on from the
paragraph beginning “Sadly…” to the end of the paragraph to the end
18.
Why is ostracism worse than negative attention?
Because it means there is….
19.
In a sense spree killers can be said to have
achieved their ultimate purpose because…
20.
The statistics presented in the text concerning
spree killing support the contention that…
21.
What possible conclusion can be drawn from the
Demos interviews?
22.
The best way to tackle the problem of attention
seeking is to provide more opportunity for…
WRITING TASK
Use all the information that you have gleaned to write an
essay discussing the effects of attention seeking.
LOOK AT ME: WHY
ATTENTION SEEKING IS THE DEFINING NEED OF OUR TIME; KEY AND TEACHERS’ NOTES
This brilliant text
links a lot of what is going on in the modern world to one phenomenon:
attention seeking. It is beautifully argued and well written. It should lead to
some lively discussion and a good writing task. The task is divided into
sections so it can be broken up.
1. Everyone
needs attention like we need to eat
2. Everything
people do from art to crime, from romance to terrorism
3. They
wouldn’t have the motivation to do the things that are required to pass their
genes down the generations
4. Accurate
/ have spent a lot of time with the individual or person
5. Because
people who feel they don’t belong suffer terribly, and experience health
problems comparable to obesity or smoking
6. That
loneliness seems to be a matter of a lack of social connections
7. You’re
creating bonds of reciprocity
8. Have
more high quality attention than people want to give you
9. Lonely
people don’t deserve attention
10. Search
for a feeling of belonging not always in the best way
11. Between
real friendship and friendship on Instagram
12. The
hours upon hours of intense conversation
13. The
second is false; the rest are true
14. The
fact that any approval that you get is not for your full and whole self
15. Crimes
of attention / the loneliness and craving for attention created by a fixed
belief that they are not worth liking
16. A
desire for the attention they think they deserve.
17. Most
intimacy-seeking stalking is something almost anyone is capable of
18.
No attention
19.
We paid more attention to their feelings
20.
They are crimes of attention made possible by
the new media
21.
J. violence feeds a craving for attention that
they clothe in…
22.
High quality attention
