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Attention spans are not getting shorter
The truth about your audience's scrolling habits.
Kirsty Boden-Stuart
February 11, 2025
At the start of this year, my three-year-old sat through an entire 2-hour performance of Robin Hood the pantomime at our local theatre. Two hours of her full, unwavering attention.
This is the same child who, just that morning, ‘forgot’ she was eating breakfast three times because she:
Spotted a bird outside
Needed to know what her cereal bowl felt like as a hat
Gave an impassioned TED Talk to Bluey, green bunny and Encanto’s Mirabel about why pizza makes a solid breakfast choice.
It's fascinating how attention works.
A lot of marketers think about that famous attention span stat — the one that claims we now focus for less time than a goldfish. Eight seconds, apparently, down from 12 in 2000.
But when you look into where these numbers came from, you'll find they're about as scientific as my daughter's cereal bowl hat experiment.
ALSO: I watch my daughter focused on her favourite book, analysing every picture, asking questions about each character, demanding the same story three times in a row. Then later, I binge-watch an entire series of The Traitors without coming up for air.
And I think: Huh.🤔
Attention spans are not getting shorter
Your audience is just getting better at deciding what deserves their attention.
Think about your own content consumption. When something truly interests you, you'll dive deep. You'll read long articles and watch hour-long videos.
The problem isn't shortened attention spans. It's that we're being bombarded with thousands of messages across multiple platforms every single day.
Add to this the algorithms serving up personalised content, and it's no wonder people scroll past anything that doesn't immediately resonate with their values, lifestyle or interests.
Your audience has had to become expert curators of their own content experience just to stay sane. You have to do it yourself! We all do!
Where does that leave marketers?
First of all: THIS IS GOOD NEWS.
Stop stressing about whatever attention span statistic is going around and focus on creating content worth choosing — content that aligns with your audience's values and interests.
When I think: ‘Argh, ‘people's attention spans aren't getting shorter’ — I feel like throwing my laptop out the window.
When I think: ‘My audience is getting better at finding what matters to them’ — I feel like having a cup of tea and sitting down to work. 🧘
I usually start with a working title / subject line / hook then focus all of my energies on creating content that aligns with my audience's desires, values and aspirations.
Only when I’ve achieved that do I go back and create an attention-grabbing title. This means I’m not creating click-bait, but high quality content that also draws people in.
Remember: Your audience's attention span isn't shorter – it's more selective. And that's not a challenge to overcome; it’s an opportunity to create something truly worth their time.
Your audience is exercising choice when they spend time with your content. All you’ve got to do is honour that choice by delivering genuine value.
Hope that gives you a spark of hope. ✨
Kirsty
P.S: I wrote a shorter version of this idea on LinkedIn last week. If you have any thoughts about this attention span thing, feel free to leave a comment.
P.P.S: Thank you sooo much for all the love after last week’s post about quitting my job and starting anew. Can’t thank you enough. 🫶
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