Struggling to finish this sentence? Pay attention! (Democracy depends on it)
A quarter of UK adults say they actively avoid the news. And our attention spans are now a pitiful, er, sorry, where was I? Oh yes… 47 seconds*. But stories like the Post Office scandal shows that when we tune in and don’t drop out, it ignites an irresistible blast no politician can ignore, writes Alan Rusbridger
*This column will take on average four minutes and 30 seconds to read, so you may need to factor in at least five or six breaks to get through it
This is a column about… sorry, where was I? Oh yes, this is a column about attention sp… hang on a sec…
… Apologies, that was someone on WhatsApp. Bloody funny. Yes, so, attention, and how in 2024 it’s… Damn, yet another email. Back in a tick. You’ll never believe that car crash reel I’ve just seen on Instagram. Big SUV driver fell asleep at the wheel. But I digress…
Twenty years ago, if the social scientists are to be believed, our average attention span was measured at two and a half minutes. And now it’s 47 seconds.
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