Attention spans

[Guest *Ste***cque**]

Ladies, ever wonder why it seems like no one reads your website info before contacting you? Blame the very thing you use to conduct business, the Internet! I believe the Internet is rewiring our brains and giving us the attention span of gnats. I'm not saying there aren't obvious positives from the online world but there lurks a dark side.

 

All the browsing, surfing, flashing pictures, email notifications, texting, tweeting... The Internet is full of information but it trains us to look only an inch deep in this sea of information before encouraging us to move on to another distraction... you've got mail, tweet, ping, hyperlink, ads...

 

Be honest, do you skim most of what you see online? Who reads books cover to cover anymore? I have friends who never use their brains anymore to recall information. They simply speak into their phone for the answer. I ask them if they never flex their recall abilities what do they think will happen to that part of the brain long term?

 

Am I way off base here, or do you agree that the Internet is changing our attention spans and our ability to concentrate deeply and for sustained periods of time? If so, are you concerned?

[Nicolette Vaughn 294340]

Yes I agree with you. Technology provides instant gratification and people want everything right away. When I first started in the business, people took pleasure in reading ladies websites and even planning dates. Also with adult advertising, mainly BP, everything is in the moment, content in the ad is limited and the ads are moved to top every few minutes.

 

I'm not sure if potential clients scroll down to actually look but if you're not at the top of the list, you're S-O-L. Texting is another one. No one takes the time to have a conversation anymore, there are acronyms for everything and most times I do not even get a "Hello" through text anymore. I blame it on technology. Everything is expected to be instant. While I'm up to date with everything, I'm old fashioned at heart. I like people to call me to book because that feels more 'real'. Rates, service and location" when I have a website listed on my ads, I won't even bother with a response. Especially after I say to read the website first for all info is listed there. I know who the gem clients are when they have taken the time to read everything and know the rates, etc. Those are the keepers.

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[bewlayb 7480]

Could someone remind me what this thread is about? ;)

[Amanda-Lee 11094]

When I was a teenager I never used it, I barely used the internet. Only thing I ever used it for was for school. If you think about it I am 22, lets say 6 years ago, I wasn't really into the whole internet life. Now, I'm not really into it either. I barely use Facebook, I dislike Twitter and most Social Media platforms. I'd prefer to have a conversation with someone than use shortened words and bundled words in 2-4 letters.

 

I never read the newspaper or the News, I still don't. It's something I'm not interested in. Certain things I look up and read but I am not looking at the News everyday.

 

To put things into context of my personal experiences, I understand the need for a male needing a female, but if they went to public school and graduated grade 8 they should know how to say hello at the beginning of a conversation, even over text. However, saying hello in a text message doesn't clue into the brain and just go straight to, "what are rates, location." no hello, just a plain untasteful message. I get countless texts like this a week and I reply being friendly.

 

I've corrected a few saying, "as what my ad said, my name is Amanda-Lee" or "as what the ad said I am located in the South" and so fourth. They apologize.

 

But yes, seems that they skim through the ads and look at the photos more than anything. They just want a fast look at what they can get and the dialog is gone.

[TorontoMelanieJolliet 4458]

I realize people only look at the pictures too :)

 

I was thinking about putting my information that i want them to see across my photos, just like when someone puts their name and number across the photo to keep others from stealing it. I will do it so it gets read.

 

Haven't tried it yet but am seriously thinking about it

[Nicolette Vaughn 294340]

I've had a few people call me and then when I said I was in Orleans, it was a big shock to them because they were in the west end. Its like c'mon! It said Orleans in the title. Lol, I am a patient person even tho sometimes it doesn't sound like that when I post on this site at times. Lol. I am a professional and hold my breath when I get called "Vicki" or even some far out name like "So your name is Cynthia right?" Umm, no that is not my name. Please read the ad and address us by the correct name. At least most guys get that right but for those who dont, take the tome to read for goodness sakes. It comes across as if the person doesn't give a crap about who they're calling.

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[Meaghan McLeod 179664]

what's this thread about? lol

[johnybird 4391]

I'll be honest Zeno I skimmed through your Post because of it's length, It's sad I know.

 

If there's an article i'm really interested in, I usually don't have a problem but otherwise you're right. The content on social media, as well as boards like this, are constantly being updated so you always want to know what's going on. I even find if I'm watching something at home and my phone is next to me I grab it a few times to look at those updates. I'm constantly rewinding.

 

We don't seem to exercise our brains, The only phone number I can remember these days is my own because I'm so used to just going in my address book or saying "Call XXXXXX"

 

Even when I receive something as simple as a joke from a friend in my e-mail or they post something on Facebook, if it's longer than a sentence I just delete it or skip it.

 

I don't have any issues reading the ladies websites though, they hold my interest :) My phone can be dinging with text message, I will glance at it to see if it's an emergency otherwise I will ignore it.

 

I know this is going to sound real corny but it's the truth, being with one of these lovely ladies is one of the times where I don't think about anything else. My focus is on the moment. (I do have other times where I can focus, I'm not a puppy, even though SQUIRREL!!!!)

[Amber Rose 19012]

I don't exactly disagree, since the Internet definitely does have so much it's hard to pay attention to one thing for so long, but I certainly don't think it's changed the way I read or pay attention to things, but perhaps this varies from person to person.

 

I definitely still read the news, I still read a whole article or any long paragraphs that interest me, and I certainly still read books cover-to-cover, though when I say I "skim" through everything I read, it's because of how my English teacher in high school taught me to read faster while still taking in all of the information, and it doesn't mean I'm only reading the interesting parts and skipping the rest.

 

I do think a large majority of men skim through our sites quickly to get whatever info they think they need, such as rates or contact info, and skip others, but most are viewing our websites in a hurry, and many might not have the luxury of sitting at a computer and reading through the site thoroughly, especially if they have family at home or are at work. As long as they're friendly and respectful, I have no issues letting them know the info they missed :)

 

I don't really know if I would blame technology on people's short attention span, I think it's just the way many people are, and technology and the Internet sort of helped make it shorter. I remember in elementary and high school, even before all this crazy technology was fully in our homes and hands, other students would always skip over what they were reading until they got to a part that interested them, or when doing work would easily be distracted and instead of hopping on the Internet, they would constantly try to run out and play.

 

None of this is new, we just have so much more to distract us now.

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[Guest *Ste***cque**]

I don't exactly disagree, since the Internet definitely does have so much it's hard to pay attention to one thing for so long, but I certainly don't think it's changed the way I read or pay attention to things, but perhaps this varies from person to person.

 

I definitely still read the news, I still read a whole article or any long paragraphs that interest me, and I certainly still read books cover-to-cover, though when I say I "skim" through everything I read, it's because of how my English teacher in high school taught me to read faster while still taking in all of the information, and it doesn't mean I'm only reading the interesting parts and skipping the rest.

 

I do think a large majority of men skim through our sites quickly to get whatever info they think they need, such as rates or contact info, and skip others, but most are viewing our websites in a hurry, and many might not have the luxury of sitting at a computer and reading through the site thoroughly, especially if they have family at home or are at work. As long as they're friendly and respectful, I have no issues letting them know the info they missed :)

 

I don't really know if I would blame technology on people's short attention span, I think it's just the way many people are, and technology and the Internet sort of helped make it shorter. I remember in elementary and high school, even before all this crazy technology was fully in our homes and hands, other students would always skip over what they were reading until they got to a part that interested them, or when doing work would easily be distracted and instead of hopping on the Internet, they would constantly try to run out and play.

 

None of this is new, we just have so much more to distract us now.

Posted via Mobile Device

 

Good points. Personally, I do think the internet of everything with desktops, laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc, all linked online have made us more distracted and affected our attention spans than in the past when these distractions didn't exist.

Continual focus may never have been a strong suit of humans since we are programmed to observe our surroundings and notice changes in our environment. It kept us safe from dangerous animals. The online world is merely exploiting that tendency towards distractions and doing an admirable job. Whether that is good or bad is yet to be determined. Although I personally think the brighter the software, the dimmer the user. Eventually machines will NEED to do everything for us as many of our own mental faculties will have atrophied from lack of use.