I don’t actually use TikTok or even the “sliding” function on youtube shorts, but I feel like my attention span has gotten much worse after they started getting popular. Even watching a 2 minute video feels dreadfully long, let alone a 10 or 20 minute video, so I end up watching a mostly short animation memes instead.
Teacher here. I can absolutely see it in the attention spans of my students over the last few years vs those from even 5 years ago
Within the constraints of the job it might be impossible to implement any changes, but do you have any ideas how to keep students engaged for long term projects when they have these 2min-tik-tok attention spans? I’m asking as someone who sees this behaviour in younger colleagues that I try to educate as a senior… :D
So what I’ve found is that they need to be interested in doing whatever. As soon as it’s “boring” they lose interest. In other words, nope, not a clue. Maybe earning a paycheck will help your colleague realize the importance, but I don’t have any ideas that have worked. I try to make my lessons engaging, but I’m not a TikTok influencer, so …
maybe our generation (if we’re even the same, lol) could just hide our boredom better :D But deep down we all needed that teacher who could keep us engaged… but who knows… :)
Very much, yes. Why is that?
I think it’s because we got used to surround ourselves with high-pitched stimuli. Especially the digital world is designed to catch and keep our attention. There is kind of an evolutionary pressure for these services to develop in this direction, as those who manage to anchor themselves in our habits naturally displace others who don’t. Yes, addiction is another interesting, related topic, but let’s get back to attention span.
There are things we’d like to do, which are beneficial and provide long-term rewards, but we find it’s difficult for us to concentrate on them.
Reading a book. Learning or playing an instrument. Studying, even for subjects which we find genuinely interesting. Spending time with people off-screen, talking with relatives or neighbors.
These don’t give you a kick every few seconds like an instagram feed. When scrolling through lemmy, you could find the next exciting thing at every moment! Maybe the next Tinder profile is hot, or even a match? Oh, what’s that meme?
I don’t think short videos are particularly to blame or the root cause, I rather see them as one of many symptoms. Videos have to catch our attention with their thumbnail (which is often clickbaity exaggerated for that reason), and somewhat deliver the expected excitement, else the channel goes extinct.
I found myself using my phone as a second screen when the video on the big screen fails to keep my attention (of course it’s actually me failing to focus).
Our brain gets used to what becomes our norm, lower-pitched stimuli seem less exciting in contrast. Yes, I could pick up my guitar and try to slightly improve my skills with that song, or reap the instant reward with just one more click, or just one more scroll.
There is probably no alternative for the cure. Adjust the normal pitch so that the things you actually want to do seem like a really good idea. Actively abstain from being bathed in superficially exciting content, to make room for actually rewarding activities. Or in other words, embrace boredom.
I started to feel that, and I felt like I was more impatient and irritable. Not claiming this is evidence, just my own intuition. So I don’t watch YT Shorts.
Also no TikTok, Reels, or any other clones of those.
For sure. It’s the reason why I refuse to use apps that autoplay videos, including default reddit app, Twitter. I have YouTube Revanced which strips out the Shorts button and the section from the app itself. On desktop, I use an extension to remove shorts as well. However I’m way more addicted to consuming information. Text is where its at, (Tildes, HN, comments all over) maybe slightly less harmful compared to video but it’s not good for sure.
That’s a great observation - indeed, I experience the same occurrence with my attention span. Limiting the consumption of social media helps.
