Molly Garrett highlights the significance of three seconds in human interactions and biological rhythms, such as hugging, blinking, and sighing. She notes the shrinking human attention span, now averaging around 47 seconds, driven by the constant influx of online content. In political campaigns, especially concerning contentious issues like abortion, this brevity necessitates concise and impactful messaging. She discusses the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, which overturned federal abortion protections, leading to state-level battles like the Kansas referendum. Drawing from her experience in political campaigning, she describes the emotional and ethical challenges of creating effective ads, balancing clarity, emotional impact, and brevity. Garrett also touches on the influence of religious and cultural backgrounds on political beliefs and single-issue voting, and how the rapid pace of online content prioritizes attention over understanding.
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Discussion (1)
Without trying to be overly dramatic: Our attention spans are completely shot because of social media. If a video doesn’t hook me in three seconds, I'm already scrolling past it. It's frustrating that political ads have to be so dramatic and dumbed down just to get noticed because we're all overwhelmed with constant content. I fear this makes us not able to think deeply about things.