LUKE MARSDEN: my fears for dwindling concentration spans

No, it isn’t some new TikTok challenge, but it probably has been spawned out of the fact that TikTok videos are meant for a generation that has an incredibly short (and getting even shorter!) attention span.

This new trend sees people watch and listen to things at 1.5 times their normal speed, so when you accidentally fast-forwarded a VHS tape and you could sometimes hear fast speaking, this has now come full circle and is actually the way that a growing number of humans are consuming audio and video.

In the grand scheme of things this isn’t a major concern (especially with Monkeypox around the corner?!) but if we let this trend continue, where will it end?

Will people expect to finish the entire Lord of the Rings film trilogy in under an hour? Will a sloth ever be watched again in normal speed? Will everyone seem like they’ve had too much caffeine or worse?

Netflix binging has become part and parcel of the normal way of life. In fact, when you have to wait a week for a new episode of a series it feels like a lifetime.

I love streaming, but this new 1.5 times speed watching is taking streaming to a whole new level. Forums across the internet are filled with speed streamers talking about their enjoyment of getting extra time back in their lives because they finish a TV series or podcast before the average joe.

I highly doubt for a moment that these new trend setters are re-purposing their extra time with doing something worthwhile.

They are probably doom scrolling on the internet or looking for the next fad to jump on.

I’m yet to meet a speed streamer in real life and I doubt we have many in Wigan but if I do meet one, I’ll be sure to wrap the conversation up as quickly as it starts.

Give me the Crazy Frog any day of the week.