Have our attention spans become shorter?

Rosie_Scope
Rosie_Scope Posts: 9,819 Scope online community team
edited October 15 in Coffee lounge

With lots of short-form content around, do you think people are becoming less able to concentrate on longer forms of entertainment? Have you seen a change over time in what you're able to concentrate on?

I notice it when I watch older documentaries or TV shows. The pace is often much, much slower than I'm used to and sometimes I find myself thinking "did people really sit through this?". But then wonder if it's just my modern brain being used to all the flashy, fast-moving stuff we get these days. It would be interesting to hear your perspectives on it!

I know some of our community might have conditions that affect their focus too - do you feel this kind of short-form content has had any impact on you?

Comments

  • Anhedonia2
    Anhedonia2 Community Member Posts: 456 Empowering

    100%

    I see it in my daughter and her friends but myself too. I struggle to sit through a whole film in one go now, and I blame my ADHD but actually, I used to be able to. They just don't hold my attention like they used to.

    I've founds so many young people no longer watch TV or films at all, and prefer short-form content. Anything over 5-10 minutes is too long. And forget reading! I even see people scrolling their phones in the cinema.

    I agree with you about older shows and the format of things being different too. Also the complexity has changed, everything seems to have to be so on the nose and spelt out repeatedly now.

  • Rachel_Scope
    Rachel_Scope Posts: 5,417 Scope online community team

    Sorry I stopped reading halfway through… 😉

    Yes absolutely! Everything is so fast-paced nowadays and the editing of longer YouTube videos is more chaotic to keep the viewers attention. I watched a 45 minute video yesterday and whilst the guest was speaking they actually played a clip of someone playing call of duty in the corner as it was deemed 'too boring' to sit through! Watching old media is so interesting as it's a much slower pace and not everything is explained in detail to ensure the viewer understands the plot.

    I saw that Netflix now have InstaDocs which are a shorter form of documentaries, being around 30 minutes long. I love a documentary deep-dive but feel these shorter ones are catering for those who only consume short-form content. I wonder if 30 minutes is still too long for them?

    There's quite a stark difference between American and British shows too. I know if I watch something British I'll probably need to concentrate, whereas American shows are more fast-paced and often designed to be put on in the background.

  • Rosie_Scope
    Rosie_Scope Posts: 9,819 Scope online community team

    I've seen that too @Anhedonia2! Last time I went to the cinema there were two people in the row in front of me just constantly scrolling on their phones for the entire film. I just think what's the point in paying to watch a big screen if you're going to stare at a tiny one the whole time? 😄

    Do you see your daughter and her friends pushing against it at some point in the future and trying to train themselves out of the short-form stuff? Or do you think this will be a permanent shift?

    I've heard there's been a bit of an 'analogue' trend lately where some younger people are buying proper watches and sticking to more screen-free alternatives, so perhaps that will encourage more young people to challenge things.

    That's a good point @Rachel_Scope! Media from the USA often influences stuff over here eventually so I wonder if we'll see things going that way!

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