Watch. Like. Scroll. Repeat.
Watch. Like. Scroll. Repeat.
Repeat and repeat and repeat before glancing at the clock and realizing that what has felt like mere seconds has actually been hours. This is the reality that most American teenagers live in, one built on the plethora of short-form videos that fill both TikTok and Instagram Reels alike. The “doom scroll,” as it has come to be known, is only a fraction of the true scope of this issue. The effects of short-form content can be seen from the rise of abbreviated slang to a decline in reading that could have massive consequences for society as a whole.
Currently, as stated by the National Library of Medicine, the average young adult has an attention span of 6 to 8 seconds. However, most people decide if they will watch or skip content in an even shorter period, pressuring content creators to be remarkable in order to stand out. Otherwise, the “watch, like, scroll, repeat” phenomenon will continue in a vicious cycle that runs on and on for eternity. This is then worsened as algorithms favor shorter and shorter videos, creating an addiction to the sensation of instant gratification and shortening attention spans as they do so.
However, this affects more than just how quickly people swipe through their “For You” page— it often slowly and insidiously spreads into how they communicate in their everyday lives. When people text, conversations move quickly. They do not want to spend the rest of their lives typing out a handful of words, nor do they have the patience to do so. Instead, even ridiculously short phrases and words such as “I can’t lie” and “you” are abbreviated to “icl” and “u,” respectively, all because people are too lazy to take the time to spell everything out. In some cases, this spreads even further, leaching into the spoken word.
People are consumed with saying everything they want to say as quickly as possible — why say “to be honest” when one could simply say “tbh?” Some people do this ironically to add humor to a conversation, but far too many do it in full sincerity. While this may seem funny in the moment, it is a trend that could have long-term ramifications. After all, if even simple words and phrases are being shortened, what will happen to longer words? If this continues at the same rate, common dialect will be abbreviated overall, representing a deterioration of the many complexities that add necessary flavor to language.
Even more concerning is the effect this has on reading. As time goes on, younger generations are spending more and more time on their phones, and less and less time reading books. In fact, the National Endowment of the Arts states that in 2023, only 14% of 13-year-olds reported reading for fun on an almost daily basis, down from 17% in 2020 and 27% in 2012. Instead of reading for fun, they merely read for schoolwork. This makes reading seem all the less enjoyable, as it is a chore rather than a choice. This is then made all the more difficult by the shortened attention spans, making it harder to focus on written texts, especially those with more complicated or layered dialects. As a result, the overall level of comprehension decreases, as students are constantly having to redirect their focus to work that is not engaging or appealing to their shortened attention span.
This creates a domino effect that is particularly visible through students’ difficulty with professional writing and test-taking abilities. As a result, tests such as the SAT have redone their questions to make them more easily answerable by the average student, as stated in the U.S News and World Report. These skills are incredibly important in the professional fields that students will enter in their adult lives, but because of the shortened attention spans stimulated by short-form content, they will likely be underdeveloped within these students. This sets them up for difficulty and perhaps even failure in their futures, but it can be remedied. The solution? Reading. By reading, comprehension skills are honed, and the ability to focus is practiced and strengthened.
Read for fun. Read even when it isn’t assigned homework. It doesn’t have to be Shakespeare or Austen or Doyle or Fitzgerald. It can be something silly, or light or stupid. It can be something that provokes thought, or emotion or simply laughter. It can be anything, so long as it is enjoyable.
Just read.
