Wallace’s work exhibits a fascination with attention that is regulated and optimized through processes of self-administration, as well as an interest in how alertness and interest can be performed (I explored this in Contemporary Fictions of Attention, 2018). However, he also demonstrates a concern with forms of attention that do not just play out in the self-conscious practices of an isolated subject. Instead, his work also stages interactive moments of collective attention, such as the focus group in “Mister Squishy” or the game of Eschaton in Infinite Jest. This chapter will lay out a broader context for Wallace’s interest in attention, before going on to identify how Yves Citton’s notion of “attention ecology” might help to frame an argument about Wallace’s depictions of group attention.

Cocaine and methamphetamine produce elation, confidence, and sharp focus in most users. The drugs also enable long periods of physical or mental effort, but are very addictive and can cause dangerous behavior. The positive reinforcement, autonomic arousal, and behavioral effects come from the drugs’ agonist action on dopamine and noradrenaline. An SUD occurs in about half of cocaine or methamphetamine users, and in about one-third of misusers of pharmaceutical stimulants, including Adderall and Ritalin. Addiction often develops rapidly and is most likely in daily users and those who inject the drugs IV or inhale cocaine vapor. Addicts often use the drugs in binges that continue uninterrupted for days. Extreme irritability, suspicion, and social withdrawal are common. Obsessive thought patterns sometimes lead to psychotic paranoia. Clinical depression and suicide are definite risks. Heavy stimulant use damages the cardiovascular system, kidneys, and the brain, and causes impairment of memory and executive function. Withdrawal brings depression and emotional lability. Smaller, less active babies with increased emotional reactivity result from prenatal exposure to stimulants.