Anton Yanaky, Period 6, 2/7/24

Anton Yanaky
Period 6
2/7/24

Modern Mythology 2024
Socio-political Consciousness

Since TikTok was launched internationally in 2017, the way we consume information has vastly changed. Along with TikTok’s pioneering use of short-form content (1 minute or less) and the element of infinite scrolling, it created an addicting, dopamine receptor frying monster all the while making billions from it. Other companies, like sharks sensing blood, sought to clone, claw away, and claim a piece of the pie from TikTok. This resulted in an uncountable amount of copies, from YouTube Shorts to Instagram Reels, so even if you managed to avoid TikTok it found its way to you.

This brings us to today and my main point, attention spans have fallen off of a cliff. This is particularly evident within my generation, with the constant and easily accessible stream of short clips the ability to focus on longer-form material has diminished significantly. This is especially true within the classroom, I can’t find a study online showing this, but I can use myself as a case study, I find it much harder to pay attention now compared to several years ago. This problem isn’t something that can be overlooked as it will affect future generations that are born with a phone in their hands.

Instant gratification and easy access to dopamine will create a society with an aversion to taking risks and stepping outside of their comfort zone. I don’t know how to conclude this yapping session since I do not have a solution to this problem nor do I want to pretend that I’m not a part of it as well. These problems that are greater than you and plague society as a whole always instill a sense of hopelessness. On one hand, it feels like you're chained, on the other hand, it just takes one domino to fall to make them all fall.