From attention to trust: why “emotional access” is becoming an integral part of our online experience

Digital systems don’t just deliver information anymore — they increasingly shape how we think, process, and make decisions. From public services and education to media and work tools, our daily lives are mediated by interfaces that influence what we notice, what we ignore, and how it feels to participate online.

That sits right alongside the incentives of the attention economy, where “engagement” often becomes the success metric — and design patterns can unintentionally (or intentionally) increase overwhelm, stress, and cognitive load. This raises a basic question: is “accessibility” only about whether a service is usable… or also about whether it feels safe, navigable, and non-punishing to use?

This is the question behind The Neural Commons — a collaboration between BBC (CAPE), the University of Cambridge ThinkLab, and Durham University’s Center for Research into Inner Experience.

Our first major output is a new white paper, The Right to Emotional Access in Digital Systems (August 2025). It argues that digital inclusion needs an expanded definition of access: one that includes the emotional and cognitive experience of using a system — especially for neurodivergent users and anyone navigating high-stress or high-stakes contexts.

“Emotionally safe and cognitively supported digital systems go beyond the legal compliance of inclusion to facilitate improved user experience.”

In other words: a system can meet technical standards and still be experienced as rushed, shaming, overwhelming, or emotionally disconnecting — and that gap can quietly erode trust, engagement, and equity.

At ThinkLab, our work with the BBC focuses on turning these ideas into practical, testable design moves: how tone, rhythm, feedback, defaults, and interaction patterns can reduce unnecessary friction and support a wider range of attention styles and emotional needs — without treating people as “edge cases”.

This white paper is a first step. The bigger ambition is to think alongside others who are asking the same questions: how do we take this emerging concept and turn it into tools, methods, and real-world outputs that make a positive shift in the online experience for everyone?

Read the white paper (Cambridge Apollo):
The Right to Emotional Access in Digital Systems

Further reading on the attention economy & online design:

• Center for Humane Tech — The Attention Economy 
• Neurodivergent Insights — Reclaiming Your Attention: Navigating The Micro And Macro Pulls Of The Attention Economy

Further reading on The Neural Commons:

• BBC: Neural Commons
• BBC: Neural Commons White Paper
• BBC: Emotional Accessibility Framework