There was an infographic a few years back that went viral—and sparked a million think pieces. The claim was this: you now have a shorter attention span than a goldfish. Shocking, maybe, but it also made sense. After all, in a world where we can be working at our laptops with a podcast playing in the background and the kids watching PJ Masks on a nearby tablet, we’re often dividing our attention—and there’s certainly no shortage of noise. Plus, when we scroll through our social feeds at lightning speed, we’re able to take in so much content, so quickly. Perhaps our brains no longer need to bother watching anything longer than eight seconds.
It turns out the statistic was, in fact, completely made up. But it did make people wonder. What is happening to our attention spans, anyway? When researchers started asking questions, they made a surprising discovery: our attention spans aren’t getting shorter after all, and they may actually be increasing. According to a recent article in Forbes Magazine, viewing patterns on streaming services like Netflix are proof that we have the ability to watch much longer content (after all, “binge-watching” means spending at least five continuous hours on a show), assuming we find it interesting.
So the key for those of us creating content, whether a docuseries or a rom com or a commercial, is to figure out ways to keep the brain engaged. One way to do this is to call on the brain’s desire for either novelty or familiarity—either one will pique a viewer’s interest and keep them watching. This technique has long been used by advertisers: a talking gecko is pretty novel, while the image of a family settling down with popcorn on the couch is comforting and familiar, even if it’s not our own experience. Advertisers keep us watching by making us laugh (see: a talking gecko) or by pulling at our heartstrings. It’s not rocket science, but it is about taking advantage of the science of the brain—and it works. The best commercials generate massive amounts of revenue for companies, and good advertising agencies are big business (who could forget Don Draper’s amazing penthouse apartment in the later seasons of Mad Men).
While it’s true that we can learn something from advertisers, perhaps the best way to captivate an audience is with a technique that predates modern advertising by about 35,000 years: with the very human impulse to tell a story. Since those earliest cave paintings, we’ve been longing to share stories—but it never happens in a vacuum. A good story requires a captive audience, and it’s cyclical: an audience will only be captivated if the story is actually good. Stories help us make sense of the world, and to create very human connections.
So what makes for a great story? According to scientist Dr. Paul Zak, the key is immersion, or that feeling that you’ve been completely taken in by what you’re watching. Immersion leads to a release of oxytocin, which means watching a well-crafted story makes us feel good. Weaving together elements of novelty, tension, and relatability to build a narrative arc—even in short form content—can lead to an immersive experience, keeping viewers engaged as long as we’d like them to be. Our attention span is only as short as that of a goldfish, it would seem, when we’re bored.
It’s cynical, then, to imagine that an audience can’t spend time on a story that’s interesting or worthwhile; in fact, a good story may be the only reason to stay tuned at all. Here at Front Runner Films, we’ve been banging the storytelling drum for years, so it’s not news to us—but we’re glad the rest of the world is catching up. You can see examples of how we tell stories with humor and heart by checking out recent work here on our website. To read more about the science of sustained attention and how storytelling unlocks it, check out the Forbes article here. Science Shows: Humans Have Massive Capacity for Sustained Attention
