Attention Span - How technology has changed the work of communicators and influenced the training they need

 

Technology has significantly changed the work of communicators and influenced the training they need, due to various issues of modem day technology. One such example in this regard is that of “attention span”. It has significantly decreased due to the use of internet 2.0 apps like Facebook, Instagram, twitter, and various micro-blogging websites etc. This change in the audience behavior has altered the work of communicators. The communicators now have to work in a smarter way to keep the interest of their audience due to smaller attention span.

The lower attention span due to modern-day technology, has influenced the need of training for the communicators. The communicators now must learn the skill of keeping their audience hooked for a longer period of time. They have to acquire and develop new skills through training, so that their audience does not leave in the middle of the article or video or whatever the medium of presentation is selected. They have to present the information in a way, not only to capture the interest of the audience in the start but also to maintain high level of interest till the very end. The art of effective communication is a skill and it requires practice just like an athlete requires practice to win a marathon.

Moreover, this issue of lower attention span is illustrated beautifully by Mike Wright and Ellie Zolfagharifard in an article, on The Telegraph (UK). Another in-depth article written by By Jyothsna Bhat, PsyD, on the website of National Alliance on Mental Illness (nami), can be found here, on the same topic.