An Issue of Attention
Let's take a look at the graphs below. What do you notice?
The prevailing trend among all of the above graphs is a sharp, short peak, followed by a decrease and leveling out to pre-peak values . Unfortunately, these graphs provide glaring evidence for the ever-shortening attention span of our media. Of course, since media caters to its audience, the graphs are also evidence for our ever-shortening attention span. The following graph, entitled "Life and Death of the Twitter Issue of the Day," provides a humorous depiction of this phenomenon.
Below is a breakdown of how long each event "peaked" in the media, according to (my imperfect analysis of) the above graphs:
Uganda: 2 days
Kony: 2 days
IRS Scandal: 20 days
VT, Aurora, Giffords: 21 days
Haiti: 50 days
Tsunami: 50 days
Katrina: 60 days
This issue of attention relates back to a problem that is inherent in the content-sharing format that Upworthy is trying to promote. In fact, the average Upworthy viewer spends only 3 minutes and 18 seconds on the website, which is less than the length of 5 out of 8 of the top videos on the front page (as of April 28, 2014). If these viewers stay on the page for a period of time that is shorter than many of the featured videos, how much are they actually being engaged? Most of the videos on Upworthy are much shorter than a segment of evening news, a TED talk, or a radio program. There is no doubt that this condensed format of content-delivery caters specifically to a generation of individuals with ever-shortening attention spans.
Let's use a metaphor. If you want to make a juice concentrate from fruit, you boil the fruit until it disintegrates, and then drain out juice to separate it from the pulp. In the end, you're left with the pure, smooth juice, free of pulp and all the undesirable bits.
See where I'm coming from? The same thing happens when you condense a complex social/political/cultural/economic issue that arises from the intersection of many other issues: you lose out on the mess. While this process may result in a product that is more palatable to the masses, it is ultimately a disservice.
Part of the blame can be placed on the culture of shaming and guilting individuals into keeping up with current events and hot-button issues. Nobody wants to be the one who is unaware, the one who is seemingly ignorant or cold-hearted, and thus everyone feels a compulsive need to jump on the bandwagon as soon as an issue starts to "trend." Ironically though, this practice is just a temporary cover-up.
The spotlight on any issue is bound to go out sooner or later (more likely sooner, as evidenced here), and once it does, only a select group of individuals remains invested in caring. I imagine that the accountability curve for people to be informed mirrors that of the media coverage curves. While accountability is high at first, re-inforced on both the personal and national level, we feel obligated to do something. However, as soon as nobody is checking up on us, we slink back into our old ways. Let's be honest, how many of us actually read the news on a frequent basis? But, how many of us read the news when we see a specific topic taking over our Facebook newsfeed? We are so pressured into "caring" that we are quickly reach for the easy fix to alleviate the pressure. When we relinquish our internal locus of motivation to the external loci that bombard us every day, we are cheating ourselves out of our true capacity for personal engagement and investment.
What we need is a sustainable method to keep up and stay involved.
Uganda: 2 days
Kony: 2 days
IRS Scandal: 20 days
VT, Aurora, Giffords: 21 days
Haiti: 50 days
Tsunami: 50 days
Katrina: 60 days
This issue of attention relates back to a problem that is inherent in the content-sharing format that Upworthy is trying to promote. In fact, the average Upworthy viewer spends only 3 minutes and 18 seconds on the website, which is less than the length of 5 out of 8 of the top videos on the front page (as of April 28, 2014). If these viewers stay on the page for a period of time that is shorter than many of the featured videos, how much are they actually being engaged? Most of the videos on Upworthy are much shorter than a segment of evening news, a TED talk, or a radio program. There is no doubt that this condensed format of content-delivery caters specifically to a generation of individuals with ever-shortening attention spans.
Let's use a metaphor. If you want to make a juice concentrate from fruit, you boil the fruit until it disintegrates, and then drain out juice to separate it from the pulp. In the end, you're left with the pure, smooth juice, free of pulp and all the undesirable bits.
See where I'm coming from? The same thing happens when you condense a complex social/political/cultural/economic issue that arises from the intersection of many other issues: you lose out on the mess. While this process may result in a product that is more palatable to the masses, it is ultimately a disservice.
Part of the blame can be placed on the culture of shaming and guilting individuals into keeping up with current events and hot-button issues. Nobody wants to be the one who is unaware, the one who is seemingly ignorant or cold-hearted, and thus everyone feels a compulsive need to jump on the bandwagon as soon as an issue starts to "trend." Ironically though, this practice is just a temporary cover-up.
The spotlight on any issue is bound to go out sooner or later (more likely sooner, as evidenced here), and once it does, only a select group of individuals remains invested in caring. I imagine that the accountability curve for people to be informed mirrors that of the media coverage curves. While accountability is high at first, re-inforced on both the personal and national level, we feel obligated to do something. However, as soon as nobody is checking up on us, we slink back into our old ways. Let's be honest, how many of us actually read the news on a frequent basis? But, how many of us read the news when we see a specific topic taking over our Facebook newsfeed? We are so pressured into "caring" that we are quickly reach for the easy fix to alleviate the pressure. When we relinquish our internal locus of motivation to the external loci that bombard us every day, we are cheating ourselves out of our true capacity for personal engagement and investment.
What we need is a sustainable method to keep up and stay involved.