Are People's Attention Spans Getting Shorter?

[FreeThinker619]

Question is in the title. Personally, I think the answer is yes. It is the current trend of the world. I in part blame the instant access we have to most things, making it easier for us to switch between different topics or subjects quickly.

Video games for example are moving away from complex narratives and story telling to instant gratification and structured reward systems that pay out the player for grinding mindlessly without depth. See MMOs and Candy Crush for examples.

Smart phones make it incredibly easy for people to toggle between modes of entertainment and even other people and relationships. Bored with the current conversation you're having? Just pull out your phone and text someone else. Bored or frustrated with the game you're playing? Just download another one. Bored with the porn you're watching? Well you get the idea.

Netflix, Hulu, and the internet in general have pretty much put an end to conventional television. I can watch what I want when I want, and if I don't like it, I can watch something else instantly.

Even with music, I find that with the inventions of iPods and other players that people only listen to what they want to hear at that moment. I sort of wonder what kind of impact this has on the radio industry in general.

Is this evolution? To spend as little time on something as possible while extracting the most enjoyment out of it as possible? What sort of implications does this have for our future?

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

It just means that there's more choice. I'm glad MP3 players exist. The music I listen is not played on the radio and they tend to play things over and over. (Actually there's only one station here that plays the sort of music I usually listen to.)

Why should I settle for that?

 

[FreeThinker619]

It just means that there's more choice. I'm glad MP3 players exist. The music I listen is not played on the radio and they tend to play things over and over. (Actually there's only one station here that plays the sort of music I usually listen to.)

Why should I settle for that?

modern day payola (where the dj are paid to play your songs over and over again)

 

[Quintessence]

I would be careful about conflating technological access and attention span.

Beyond that, I had to laugh about the video games comment. Most of the video games I've played today are substantially more in-depth and involved than anything I played as a kid. Heard of Mass Effect? Elder Scrolls? Fallout? Hell, Borderlands 2 has more story than most early FPS's put together (and honestly, the claim that some of these FPS's even had a story is laughable).

 

[FreeThinker619]

I would be careful about conflating technological access and attention span.

Beyond that, I had to laugh about the video games comment. Most of the video games I've played today are substantially more in-depth and involved than anything I played as a kid. Heard of Mass Effect? Elder Scrolls? Fallout? Hell, Borderlands 2 has more story than most early FPS's put together (and honestly, the claim that some of these FPS's even had a story is laughable).

true but dont you unlock achievements along the way as you go? (BTW im a big Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter fam myself). But i think that has a bit to do with technological aspect of video game consoles

like back in the day nintendo 64 was known for it 64 bit pixel, nowdays video games are 3-D

 

[BSM1]

I'm sorry, what?

 

[FreeThinker619]

I'm sorry, what?

lol i see what you did there

 

[Quintessence]

true but dont you unlock achievements along the way as you go? (BTW im a big Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter fam myself). But i think that has a bit to do with technological aspect of video game consoles

like back in the day nintendo 64 was known for it 64 bit pixel, nowdays video games are 3-D

I'm not sure what "achievements" have to do with attention spans or complexity. That word in quotes, because I find the very idea of them ridiculously oxymoronic and I don't give a damn about any of them. If there was an option to turn it off, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

It just means that there's more choice. I'm glad MP3 players exist. The music I listen is not played on the radio and they tend to play things over and over. (Actually there's only one station here that plays the sort of music I usually listen to.)

Why should I settle for that?

When I was in my single digits, my brother would take me to find CDs with him. It was always fun. The long wait for a new release, race to the CD shop before what you wanted is sold out, meeting people in the same genre isle with you, etc. Of course, I don't remember ever being interested in getting a CD, but it still was fun with the competition.

 

[sun rise]

I'm sorry, what?

Thinking about the question - oh I have an email. Someone replied to a facebook posting. I need to take a shower soon. What do I need to finish before going to bed tonight? I'm thirsty. I wonder if there's any great new cat videos on youtuabe? :magic:I need to balance my checkbook. I wonder which web site to believe about the stability of a drug at room temperature. Who won in the soccer matches today?

 

[dust1n]

Now everyone is ultimately seduced by entertainment.

 

[psylient]

I think Internet and other resources have provided so much things for a man to do that he do not takes anymore keen interest in them. When there is something which is out of our manipulation then it stimulates our curiosity which does not seems to happen much often now because we have many of things within our easy reach and control.

 

[Quintessence]

Now everyone is ultimately seduced by entertainment.

What do you mean?

 

[Kerr]

Question is in the title. Personally, I think the answer is yes. It is the current trend of the world. I in part blame the instant access we have to most things, making it easier for us to switch between different topics or subjects quickly.

Video games for example are moving away from complex narratives and story telling to instant gratification and structured reward systems that pay out the player for grinding mindlessly without depth. See MMOs and Candy Crush for examples.

Smart phones make it incredibly easy for people to toggle between modes of entertainment and even other people and relationships. Bored with the current conversation you're having? Just pull out your phone and text someone else. Bored or frustrated with the game you're playing? Just download another one. Bored with the porn you're watching? Well you get the idea.

Netflix, Hulu, and the internet in general have pretty much put an end to conventional television. I can watch what I want when I want, and if I don't like it, I can watch something else instantly.

Even with music, I find that with the inventions of iPods and other players that people only listen to what they want to hear at that moment. I sort of wonder what kind of impact this has on the radio industry in general.

Is this evolution? To spend as little time on something as possible while extracting the most enjoyment out of it as possible? What sort of implications does this have for our future?

I dont know, but I have noticed people are very busy with their phones. Not that there is anything wrong with it, I just wonder if the "always be reachable and entertained and stuff" thing is that healthy in the long run. Then again, my attention span and focus is horrible, so I pureposfully limit what might distract me. And I dont like being connected to the Internet too much because it makes my brain feel weird (virtualized). So its more likely that its just me being weird .

 

[Kerr]

true but dont you unlock achievements along the way as you go? (BTW im a big Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter fam myself). But i think that has a bit to do with technological aspect of video game consoles

like back in the day nintendo 64 was known for it 64 bit pixel, nowdays video games are 3-D

I wish I could turn achievements off... or at least have them not appear on screen. They distract me from the story in the games I play .

 

[Sunstone]

I don't know of any scientific evidence that people's attention spans are getting shorter, but I seem to have noticed over the course of my life that that might be the case.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I think it may just be that we now have much more access and exposure to the predilictions, abilities, and behaviors of the "average" person. Facebook, twitter, and other "social" media, along with the internet in general, give unprecedented insight into the mindset and mental functioning of the masses of regular people out there who used to remain largely silent. Perhaps, it's not that your "average" person is any different these days, but rather that they finally have a platform which has exposed them.