Short attention spans present challenges, but here are some stats about attention spans and some ways to help you combat them.

How long does a person concentrate on a business proposal, video presentation, or a piece of marketing content before they get distracted? What information should you know about attention spans that will help you combat this and help you keep and hold people's attention? Many businesses and marketers are trying to overcome this same challenge. Keep reading and learn about why attention spans are shrinking and what you can do to combat it.

First, we’ll start with a list of some important facts about attention spans that you should know. Then we’ll cover some marketing insights at the end part of each point. Let’s get the ball rolling.

1. Digitalized lifestyle is increasingly common

Here are some facts about attention spans that you should know.

The amount of time you have on being focused on a given activity or a task before you get distracted is known as attention span. It’s one of the cognitive functions of the brain for you to detect stimuli and to get your focus on them. Unfortunately, science reveals that people’s attention spans are declining.

According to Time, Microsoft Corporation reported that since the year 2000, the human attention span has dropped from 12 seconds to 8 seconds. Humans, as compared to a goldfish with an attention span of 9 seconds, clearly fall short by about a second. It’s almost scary when it’s put into context by comparing us to a fish.

Have you counted, perhaps, during your business meetings or conferences, the times you checked on your mobile phones?

How about this? Most people before, just prior to advanced mobile technologies, had exerted efforts in jotting down notes on a lecture. With modern devices today, people can easily take a photo of the lecturer’s presentation for their notes, instead.

Based on the report by Time, the findings on the declining attention span can be attributed to the increasingly digitalized lifestyle of the brain. Scientific investigation reveals that people are easily distracted due to the presence of mobile devices and smartphones, allowing them to get easy access to the digital world, online technology, and mobile Internet.

Nonetheless, a challenge may it be, this digitalized lifestyle also creates an opportunity for you to reach your potential clients via online marketing threads. According to Statista, there are 2.05 billion people who shop online as of the year 2020.

To cater to these online customers, Facebook, for instance, as a social platform, has been utilized for linking online stores for online shopping. For this purpose, video ads have truly brought modern marketing to life. Videos comprise the largest percentage of global Internet traffic today. In fact, the site of 99 Firms revealed there are more than 4 billion video views on Facebook every day.

The above information reveals that with the number of views that videos receive each day, they are indeed potential marketing tools to get your message across and combat attention spans. Thus, with highly effective videos, be prepared to stretch your customers’ attention spans to your business advantage.

2. People are constantly overloaded with information

A study published in Advances in Physiology Education reveals that modern learners can focus for 10 to 15 minutes. With this finding, educators learn not to overwhelm the learning individuals with too much information at once.

However, with access to mobile phones, you receive more information and stimuli than your brain knows what to do with. As published in Nature Communications, there is increased production and consumption of mobile Internet contents which may have led people to shorter intervals of collective attention.

The Philadelphia Inquirer report confirms that people take in more content and produce more for themselves. This is evident in your ability to entertain and produce just anything. They can be readily accessed or spread via social media in the modern age of mobile phones.

You receive information at such a high rate that it is too much for your brain to contain it all. In short, you’re overloaded with information.

3. Lifestyle tends to be fast-paced and stressed

If there’s something synonymous to a fast-paced world, it would be someone that’s always in a hurry. With everyone always in a rush, it’s more common for people to grapple with stress. According to The Telegraph, the stress of modern life can decrease someone’s attention spans.

This is one of the major facts about attention spans that you should know.

Since contemporary life is already flooded with stress, it’s your opportunity to create interactions that are less stressful.

Video content can be more entertaining way to reach your customers and which can help lower stress while you also get your message across.

4. Divided attention cannot be overlooked

People’s lifestyle is highly digitalized. They’re showered with such an overwhelming number of information. They live in a fast-paced world. On several points, expect to have their cognitive capacity be divided as well.

The Philadelphia Inquirer added that people’s shorter attention spans may be triggered by their divided attention or focus due to the overwhelming number of issues surrounding them today. Your social media news feed is constantly flooded with economic, social, and political issues.

As information overload is real, so as your divided attention. Thus, learning and getting a message across successfully are remarkable challenges for businesses today.

Nevertheless, no matter how divided someone’s attention is or how short the attention span is, scientific information published in CBE Life Sciences Education that reveals a video is indeed an effective learning tool. As a learning tool to effectively engage learners, a video must address the viewers’ sensory memory, engagement and learning needs. Prepare your video presentation or other related web content in a way that strongly addresses these three essential factors.

5. Modern social engagement is real

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other contemporary social networks provide you with a modern form of social engagement. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, as a venue for modern-day social engagement, these platforms throw a lot of overwhelming information at you every day.

Modern social engagement influences people to dive into whatever information they could possibly want at any given time. Fueled by social pressure and algorithmns, these social networks encourage them to read more than they could digest, which results in their attention spans to take a hit.

With video, you can connect and engage your target market in a way that is fun and exciting but not too overwhelming. The University of Queensland in Australia provided compelling evidence that digital video material can truly inspire and engage viewers. If possible, create real-life stories on your videos for inspiration. For humans, to relate to or engage in a real or personal story is what they want.

Conclusion

You know the importance of successfully getting your message across to your target prospects is getting harder and harder. People lead busier, more distracted lives and attention spans have taken a hit because of this.

You need to put yourself in your target markets shoes and think “what would grab my attention and engage me?”.

One of the best ways to combat this attention span issue is to utilize the power of video. Video is an amazing way to grab your prospect's attention and educate them in a fun and engaging way.

Need help creating engaging video content? Check out our videos at snovistudios.com/our-work and see what we can do to help!

Now, let us know what your favorite stat was? There were quite a few facts about attention spans that you should know.