2 ms·

> see this new trend of squishing down longform information (such as books, courses etc) into short tidbits with the promise of «infusing you with information»

by jatins 4y ago

> see this new trend of squishing down longform information (such as books, courses etc) into short tidbits with the promise of «infusing you with information» I see a general decline of attention spans around me and I wouldn't be surprised if more learning content takes this route. There is also something to be said about the fact the I often remember things I saw in edu TikTok more than things I read in a book because it's presented in a more engaging and visual manner. So, I assume it actually helps some people learn easier and lowers the "activation energy" threshold to get started.

terminal_d 4y ago
It already has. I'm a pre-2k zoomer and I remember how youtube used to be called "untrustworthy" as a source of information. Heck, even Wikipedia. And now everyone and their grandmother swears by youtube as a decent information source while refusing to understand WHY people upload videos on the platform. Middle-school (and higher) students can't learn exclusively from books any longer. They need interactive engagement with a person (read: celebrity) on the internet. Children are reading less overall, and any parent that tries otherwise has to first push against the "personal portable tech is integral" wall (which was absent only a decade and half ago).
Arisaka1 4y ago
Take what I'll write next with a spoonful of salt: I think the main culprit for the decline of attention spans is our poor internet browsing hygiene. When you see social media platforms competing for our attention using clickbait titles, likes and retweets to give us the social component satisfaction that someone out there found what we had to share worth reading, etc. we're reaching a point where if content cannot, at the very least, match the engagement rate then it's not worth consuming. It's a judgement call on the quality of information but based on how it's presented and not based on the value of the information itself. That's how we end up using the allure of gamification to engage people doing things that should be engaging in their own. Examples are having a tacked on achievement system that gives you a trophy in a video game, or even in the Fireship learning platform.

by jatins 4y ago

terminal_d 4y ago

It already has. I'm a pre-2k zoomer and I remember how youtube used to be called "untrustworthy" as a source of information. Heck, even Wikipedia. And now everyone and their grandmother swears by youtube as a decent information source while refusing to understand WHY people upload videos on the platform. Middle-school (and higher) students can't learn exclusively from books any longer. They need interactive engagement with a person (read: celebrity) on the internet. Children are reading less overall, and any parent that tries otherwise has to first push against the "personal portable tech is integral" wall (which was absent only a decade and half ago).

Arisaka1 4y ago

Take what I'll write next with a spoonful of salt: I think the main culprit for the decline of attention spans is our poor internet browsing hygiene. When you see social media platforms competing for our attention using clickbait titles, likes and retweets to give us the social component satisfaction that someone out there found what we had to share worth reading, etc. we're reaching a point where if content cannot, at the very least, match the engagement rate then it's not worth consuming. It's a judgement call on the quality of information but based on how it's presented and not based on the value of the information itself. That's how we end up using the allure of gamification to engage people doing things that should be engaging in their own. Examples are having a tacked on achievement system that gives you a trophy in a video game, or even in the Fireship learning platform.