Entering the era of digital capitalism, the logic of capital based on private ownership and digital technology have rapidly been integrated, and the means of capital proliferation have changed from “labor” being purchased in the physical market to “attention” being “recruited” on virtual platforms, which have resulted in the attention crisis of “depth”, “breadth” and “validity” faced by the subjects. From the perspective of historical materialism, we must fully recognize the historical trend of the transformation of digital capitalism from attention competition to attention monopoly driven by the logic of capital, and deeply understand that the solution to the crisis requires looking through the internal contradictions in the exploitation system with attention as the core, and grasping the revolutionary nature of the proletariat that will inevitably be formed thereafter. In order to develop the digital economy in contemporary China, we must draw inspiration from the critique of digital capitalism, adhere to the peoplecentered development philosophy, activate the “depth” and “breadth” of the subjects attention through platforms content innovation and algorithm recommendation optimization, and ultimately promote their “freedom of attention” in the construction of a digital China.
