Mass media and the internet have caused people’s attention spans to get shorter. However, the overall effect has been positive: while people are less able to focus on one thing, they more than make up for it with an enhanced ability to sort through lar

Mass media, particularly the internet, has caused a paradigm shift in the way information is disseminated and absorbed in the modern world. While the impact on the attention span has not been positive, media still renders a net benefit to the humans and the society at large. The overall effect of novel media devices has been overwhelmingly sanguine as it enables the user to filter the relevant information from the deluge of data. Shorter attention span is desirable for filtering as the first screening should be a fast process. It leaves the user with much more time at hand to dive deeper into the relevant texts. Furthermore, once the user encounters with the apt set of readings, she can dedicate much more attention without any interruptions from the media technologies.

Firstly, short attention resulting due to media like the internet is a necessity for wading through the copious amount of digital data. A quick scan through the search results helps us in identifying the relevant links that deserve further investigation. Even search engines like Google are aware of this benefit of the short span. And hence, they enable quick scanning by rendering snippets of information about each search result outputs. Imagine the inefficiency if we had to open each link that is thrown by the initial search result. One can argue that our initial scanning may end up filtering out something relevant. While this can be theoretically true, but it is, at the same time, highly unlikely because the snippets would most likely give the correct description of what the links have to offer. Hence, short attention span resulting due to mass media is not a bad thing, rather it has an apt utility which contributes to the overall positive impact of mass media.

Secondly, mass media provides access to the vast universe of data which was otherwise obscure. Initial filtering enabled through short attention span leaves the user with much more time at her disposal that can now be solely dedicated to the screened list of information. It is more efficient to spend 1 hour in filtering and 5 hours in studying the relevant texts vis-a-vis spending 5 hours in filtering (by looking at each and every link with longer attention span) and spending only 1 hour on the relevant texts. At times, however, spending substantial time on all the accessible information broadens our knowledge base, but if we acknowledge the cardinal truth that we cannot know everything, then 'being focused' is a highly desirable trait.

Thirdly, a shorter span is a necessity rather than a compulsion in the modern world glut with information. Hence, claiming that mass media has a negative impact because mass media leads to short-attention would be a would be an argument fraught with sophistry. Once the user has identified important texts, she shall then spend more productive and uninterrupted time with them. Now, she does not need to waver as she has found what she was looking for.

In conclusion, mass media engenders short-attention-span as a necessary tool for wading through the deluge of data, eventually aiding the user to accumulate the relevant ones. Further, investigation of this shortlisted relevant information is not marred by the short span. Hence, these novel information technologies have been a resounding boon for humanity. The step-by-step information processing requirement necessitates applying short attention span initially, and later on, users can deep-dive into the relevant information alone. This enables the optimization of learning output by acknowledging the most scare resource i.e. time.