Low Attention Spans and Social Media
Social media platforms can be as addictive as gambling, according to Dr. Julie Albright.
The Forbes article “Digital Crack Cocaine: The Science Behind TikTok’s Success” lays out the science behind why platforms such as TikTok have succeeded in capturing the attention of hundreds of millions of users in the span of only a few months.
Albright explains that TikTok operates like a drug, with effects similar to what makes gambling compulsive. If one does not win at a slot machine, he or she will simply try again, and the action will become never ending. TikTok users act the same way, scrolling through videos until one catches the user’s desired attention. This repeats until an hour or two passes by, and the user has not even realized so much time has been spent on the app.
Our attention spans are lowering, and TikTok is not the only platform where this is the case.
In my own experience, Twitter is my most frequently used platform. With a tweet limit of 280 characters, it takes hardly any effort to scan an array of posts. My eyes filter through the site’s timeline, my attention never having to lag on a tweet the size of an essay, for that post length is not allowed. The platform makes it undemanding for the user, having to only see a short glimpse of another user’s content. Twitter keeps user content fresh and quick with its tweet character, video length and photo limits.
With the amount of content readily available, it has become overstimulating. Users hop from one platform to another, and within the different sites hop around even more. It is an endless array of content, and we feel as though we need to take in as much as we can.
Because of this, our attention spans have diminished, and we prefer to take in swift content that can be easily consumed instead of spend time on one post that requires minutes to comprehend.
With this in mind, TikTok has hit its mark with its short videos.
But what does this mean for businesses wanting to expand their social media presence?
I believe that in recent years, businesses have jumped on the bandwagon and have begun to successfully integrate their messages into social media platforms by following the short and sweet aspects that sites like TikTok thrive on. Businesses need to continue to do so, for as long as social media remains a dominant force of marketing, the attention of its users will only shorten as content expands.
Creating quick and simple messages that capture the attention of users is what it’s all about. It’s imperative that businesses keep track of what works best with each platform, altering content to fit with what users are looking for.
If a business can create a silly TikTok video that hooks only a few seconds of one’s time, that could make all of the difference.
