| Description |
Since the year 2000, the average attention span has dropped from 12 seconds to eight seconds (Microsoft, 2015). This weakened ability to focus may be the result of an increased use of social media by today's society. On social media platforms, the content shared is mainly short-form content, meaning it is around 30 seconds to a minute long and is easy to understand quickly. As this form has grown in popularity, it is possible that this format may be weakening the attention span of users, as they have grown accustomed to constantly seeing something new and exciting as they scroll every couple of seconds, never staying on the same topic for too long. Consequently, the increased use of social media that is resulting in these weakened attention spans of consumers may have an impact on how television advertising is perceived. Television advertisements typically last around 30 seconds and one is not always able to instantly scroll or skip past them. Since the ads follow a different format than those which social media users have gotten used to and are far longer, there may be new attitudes forming among heavy social media users regarding television advertisements. That being said, it is vital that marketers and advertisers discover what kind of impact social media consumption has on a consumer's attitude towards television advertisements, as it will help them create more successful TV advertisements. To obtain results, I conducted an online experiment that Business Core students will take for OOCP (Out of Class Participation) bonus participation points. I inquired about social media use, exposed students to a series of mock television advertisements and recorded responses to them, which allowed me to understand their viewpoints towards the TV ads, as it relates to their social media use. The following study found that there is no statistically significant link between one's social media usage and their behavior or attitude towards television advertisements. What we can conclude from this is that while social media may be a factor that harms one's attention spans, it is not influential in causing consumers to have a more negative attitude towards television advertisements. |
