If you’ve got nothing short to say, don't say it at all.
I am a reader. I burn through books in the space of a week. At the moment I am near completing ‘The Help’ and I can’t put it down. The characters and storyline engulf my concentration from anything else in the world- the other day the ticket officer on the train had to ask me three times to show my ticket.
However, when it comes to social media, I have the attention span of a goldfish. Longer than a paragraph long? I simply can’t be bothered. Thank god for 140 characters on twitter; bore me later with your “twitlonger”
If my auntie sends me an email, I know I have to set aside at least 30 minutes to read it. I wrack my brains for a lengthy reply to match hers but can honestly only write so much before my attention lies elsewhere; which is certainly out of character for an English Language student.
Do we feel that because of social media guidelines it has firmly set the belief within us that only temporary and short content is worthy of interest? Snapchats being a disposable 10 seconds long and Tweets only allowing for 140 characters reinforce this message exactly.
It subsequently diminishes the importance of meaningful content and encourages shallow reading. Although there are of course other platforms for longer content such as blogs and forums, the popular mediums for content sharing impose an ideal of “if you’ve got nothing short to say, don’t say it at all”