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The Average Attention Spans — Are They Really Short?
For many years I learned that the attention spans of adults had been coming down to 8.5 seconds as it remains today. I learned this in a marketing class back at the newspapers many years ago, back then they compared the attention span of adults to that of a goldfish.
It seems more apparent today when the short video format took hold on many social media networks and over on YouTube. The short format videos became the rage.
No one wanted to watch a long video it seemed as attentions spans decreased.
But then something happened yesterday that made me think: Over 14 million people watched a podcast on YouTube that went on for 3 hours.
Imagine watching something for 3 hours that is not a movie nor a video game? You could tell by the hundreds of thousands of comments left on the YouTube video.
People really listened to most if not all of the podcast or watched it via YouTube. Their attention spans remained interested.
Attention Spans Vary
Many people also watch movies that are 2–3 hours long and if it’s a good movie they don’t walk out after becoming bored.
Others may attend a football game or a baseball game that goes into extra innings or overtime. Not many fans appear to leave a stadium.
They stay longer to see if there team will win. They get caught up in the game.
Is It All About The Content vs. the Length?
I believe it’s all about the content. If it is something you want to learn about you may watch a long video over on YouTube. Or if a person speaks well and tells interesting stories you may listen to a podcast for hours on end.
Back in the old days, people gathered around a radio to hear stories and news broadcasts. Then talk radio became popular where people could tune in for hours and some may have called in.
Sort of like what Twitter spaces are today or what podcasts are. You can listen while you work or do something else.
Many times I listen in while I walk.
