So a view I see a lot nowadays is that attention spans are getting shorter, especially when it comes to younger generations. And the growing success of short form content on Tiktok, Youtube and Twitter for example seems to support this claim. I have a friend in their early 20s who regularly checks their phone (sometimes scrolling Tiktok content) as we're watching a film. And an older colleague recently was pleased to see me reading a book, because he felt that anyone my age and younger was less likely to want to invest the time in reading.
But is this actually true on the whole? Does social media like Tiktok really mould our interests and alter our attention? In some respects I can see how it could change our expectations. If we've come to expect a webpage to load in seconds, it can be frustrating when we have to wait minutes. But to someone that was raised with dial-up, perhaps that wouldn't be as much of an issue. In the same way, if a piece of media doesn't capture someone in the first few minutes they may be more inclined to lose focus because they're so used to quick dopamine hits from short form content. Alternatively, maybe this whole argument is just a 'kids these days' fallacy. Obviously there are plenty of young adults that buck this trend.
Mine did for sure. When I was younger I read hundresds of books. Nowadays I can't do it any more. I have multiple blockbuster movies half watched, the playing time noted down to be able to resume. I can't bear watching anime any more, because of their endless showdowns and flashbacks before the action. (I loved anime when I was younger.) I can't watch any old (like pre 2000) shows any more (Star Trek TNG, Knight Rider, A-Team, Simpsons, etc), even ones I didn't watch yet, or ones i really liked. Their pace is just too slow. Sometimes I even speed newer shows up to be able to watch them. Otherwise everything feels like a waste of time; like I'm misssing out on something else, something better, while doing it.
This makes me think that the real issue isn't that your attention span is small and you get bored or can't pay attention, but that you can't "slow down" and enjoy what you are doing that moment and instead you keep thinking "I could be doing this, or that".
Seems to me like these are two different problems (mind you I'm not an expert or anything, just sharing an observation I made)
With "Otherwise" I mean, if i don't speed those aforementioned things up or stop doing them.
There are things I actually enjoy, like some PC games, newer shows or watching "chinese anime" (donghua), which is usually very action packed with short episodes. I can do those for hours.
I still read much maybe a book a day,buz watching shows is really hard for me. Most anime episodes end up being 10minutes, because I skip(5sec intervals) so much. Flash back scenic views, pre showdown talk, powering up, ceinging, breaks
Maybe check out "chinese anime" (donghua), but well it's chinese (in speech and ideology), which can complicate watching it for people like me, from different nationality. Good examples would be Fog Hill of Five Elements or Swallowed Star.
What are some good currently airing donghua?
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