+45 Our attention spans didn't get shorter, it's just the media we typically consume got worse, amirite?

by Equal_Egg 9 hours ago

People are also stupid. It takes a screenshot with fake data to get people emotionally charged.

by tianacronin 8 hours ago

I'm not going to argue with that. I guess the question is: did the cultural decline make us stupid, or did our stupidity cause the cultural decline? I feel like we're stuck in a bit of a feedback loop here.

by EffectiveCourse 8 hours ago

No, our attention spans are definitely getting shorter Detailed Layout:

by Kallie53 8 hours ago

Great resource! Saved!

by Equal_Egg 8 hours ago

My mom, a teacher for over 20 years, disagrees vehemently. Kids literally can't sit still anymore.

by Anonymous 7 hours ago

I'm very much invested in this take right now because I know how much is at stake. Seeing kids not being able to sit still is half of the story. Makes me wonder what happens at home.

by Equal_Egg 7 hours ago

What's happening at home is that kids are not taught to self soothe. They are given iPads or put in front of the TV and literally cannot handle a moment of silence.

by Anonymous 7 hours ago

At this point I think the parents need to be fully aware of that more than the kids.

by Equal_Egg 7 hours ago

Yep you're right, tiktoks are better than "Killers of the Flower Moon".

by Anonymous 6 hours ago

Man that movie was rough, but so good.

by Anonymous 6 hours ago

I feel like people feel the need to say it was good. It was terrible.

by Corymills 6 hours ago

I didn't really get it, beyond the beautiful imagery. It was too goofy for its own sake, felt like a comedy at times. And they didn't give Lily Gladstone much to do beyond crawling around and throwing up for half the movie

by abdullah75 6 hours ago

Funny because the book entertained me more than the film adaptation. I couldn't get past 45 minutes of viewing. Speaking from someone who can rewatch dicaprios and deniro's films ocassionally.

by Equal_Egg 5 hours ago

I mean, as someone who uses their attention span for things other than consuming media, yeah nah, it's definitely worse.

by Fletarippin 5 hours ago

Naw from. Whether it's be all those damn Netflix adaptations that no offense to those who like them I just dont see the appeal. Certain video games I grew up on not being innovative or flat out not getting another game like it in this day and age. Getting only crumbs of Certain animes I like. Certain outdoor amusements getting expensive I'm not gonna say It's a everyone widespread problem. Just saying if I was rich and didn't have to worry about ownership. I would've made left 4 dead 3 awhile ago. Lots of things I wish I could make come to life but atlas. I have no power nor capital 😂

by Valuable-Sandwich753 5 hours ago

Oh man, that sounds horrible. I definitely skip songs but anything I like I would listen to in full. Maybe it's because I listen to music while in the car.

by Equal_Egg 5 hours ago

Millenials have seen everything and society seems to blame our lack of attention span to short form media consumption I don't think that's millennials. Dead attention span seems to significantly start afterward, in zoomers, and is most prevalent in gen alpha.

by Anonymous 5 hours ago

What? TL;DR

by Anonymous 4 hours ago

I mean, as someone whose mom loved old movies, and who loved fantasy and sci-fi books, it has always been the case of there being 10+ versions of the same show/movie/books for every genre, except maybe at the VERY beginning when they were first starting to write books/film movies. There are some old movies I can't keep straight because they are straight up the same movie, with different actors, maybe a *slightly* different plot, and from a different studio. But, everything else, major plot points, the way the actors act, etc.. are pretty much the same as the other movie. These are from the 30s and 40s. So, yeah, it isn't because there are 10+ versions of the same thing, because that is pretty much always the case. However, with the rise of things like youtube and tiktok and places where you can't have large files, you want to make your point in as short of time as possible. Which leads to people having shorter attention spans, because they become used to having the 'punch line' within a few seconds to at most a minute. I have noticed it in myself, I have less patience for sitting there watching something since I started scrolling through reels and things like that, than I did before. Which, btw, it is also not true that short form entertainment is churning out unique and creative ideas. While scrolling through the reels I come across the same old jokes, and the same 'this is the latest trend, so jumping on the bandwagon!' and the same old pretty much everything all the time. People reusing other people's reels, but slapping their own face on it, people using the same jokes but adding a bit of fancy font, someone seeing a trend and going 'oh lets do it'...

by CertainDesigner 4 hours ago

There's a book called "stolen focus" that's goes over our declining attention and a lot of the factors behind it. Part of it is the media we intake but definitely not all of it. If you're interested in it, it's a great read.

by Effective_Square_206 4 hours ago

It's caused me serious mental health issues (other factors as well) the negativity is so hard to escape from these days.

by Anonymous 3 hours ago

Only interacting with garbage like the short-form entertainment you describe eventually erodes your attention span.

by Anonymous 3 hours ago

Yea, if you're only consuming shorts or tiktok on a daily basis then it's safe to say that your attention span is shot.

by Equal_Egg 2 hours ago

It's not getting worse per se, there's just too much of it. It's either choice paralysis or a lack of originals. I'm still not at a point where I tell myself how terrible kids taste in music and movies are. There are still amazing up and coming filmmakers and musicians that I don't mind supporting. Also I'm not the type to tell anyone that they have crap taste unless it's blatantly obvious lol

by Equal_Egg 2 hours ago

I just flat out don't believe it's possible for the average length of time humans can sustain attention has gotten shorter in less than a generation. Evolution doesn't happen that fast. Im in my 40s, and I find it completely implausible that my kid's and my friends' kids brain functioning is that different from my own; evolution doesn't work that fast.

by Sallieterry 2 hours ago

Reasonable take and I'm with you.

by Equal_Egg 2 hours ago