Worse than a goldfish?

The average human’s attention span is now shorter than a goldfish. According to a Microsoft Corp study, people now generally lose concentration after eight seconds, whereas the much maligned goldfish can hold on for nine.

As a communicator, this has given me pause for thought. Does this apply universally, and if so what does it mean for how we share stories?

Perhaps I’m an exception to the rule. I still enjoy reading novels and being engrossed in a good story.

However New Yorker Editor Nicholas Thompson’s recent LinkedIn post arguing that complex storytelling is thriving in our digital age has given me hope.  He notes that despite increasing digitalisation of content, energy has shifted to long form journalism – the best read piece on the New Yorker website is a 24 000 word long article on Scientology, he says, while he notes that complex series like Game of Thrones – the books and TV series - have thrived.

I think Twitter’s “Beyond 140” plans to raise its character limit to 10 000 is another indicator that there is still a place for longer form thoughts to be shared and digested. Turning to British TV, ITV’s investment in two hour long format shows like Endeavour and the long running Midsomer Murders shows there is an appetite for classic crime plots that follow basic principles of drama and storytelling - character, conflict, and change.

In Thompson’s mind, storytelling will forever remain a fundamental part of being human.

For a compulsive novel reader, I find this encouraging.  And I’m glad that humans are not perpetually  doomed to swim around like goldfish thinking - oh look, it’s a castle! -  every eight seconds.