Have you ever struggled to sit through a long movie? Ever reached for your phone to open TikTok instead of sitting down and watching a show? Attention spans have shrunken so much that some people may even feel the need to watch separate content, like Subway Surfers, in the background, while watching something else on TikTok.
Recently, due to universally shortened attention spans, Gen Z has strayed away from watching full length shows. What are teenagers doing instead of watching TV like other generations did? The answer is obvious for many: scrolling on TikTok.
However, not everyone’s scrolling. Other teenagers, and LM students, might spend their time playing video games or watching YouTube.
While some might find the switch from live TV to online streaming services very convenient, it is also an indecisive teen’s worst nightmare. It’s easy to scroll through Netflix’s homepage for hours while never deciding what to watch. Starting new TV shows is overwhelming, especially when they have more than ten seasons and are still running new episodes! TikTok decides what to watch for you—the algorithm works for you to put anything it thinks you might like on your for you page based on what you’ve previously watched. Because of this, you never have to decide what you are in the mood for and can instead just scroll endlessly.
Although some people reading this might disagree, it is proven that streaming and viewing of television has decreased year after year. The US media consumption report found that the percentage of Americans that watched television for three or more hours each day has declined from 64 percent to 61 percent. People must be filling this free time with other activities, whether they are leaving behind screens altogether or finding a different source. According to Northeastern University, over the last twenty years, the average attention span of a person has decreased from 2.5 minutes to 45 seconds. Art Kramer, a professor of psychology at Northeastern University, partially credited it to humans’ newfound access to multiple screens and information. “‘We used to watch the news when we came home in the evening, maybe also in the morning,’ Kramer says. “‘Now you can get that information in real time, in fact it may pop up on your screen.’”
TikTok and TV do not have to be completely separate. TikTok is a great space to discuss TV shows that many people love. From edits about your favorite characters, to predictions for future episodes, to TV show recommendations, the content has a huge range for every type of person. As a solution, releasing episodes weekly can help consumers avoid issues that platforms like Netflix face—such as spoilers for entire seasons dropped in a single day. When Outer Banks’ season four came out in late 2024, TikTok was filled with serious spoilers about the new episodes, when the season had only been released a few hours before! Releasing episodes weekly also allows for the whole world to be caught up while still allowing for the online connection and space for predictions that the whole world loves. On top of that, the weekly release schedule is a great way to spend time together as a family. My family has found multiple shows that we will sit down together each week no matter what and watch together.
Sadly, many teenagers are missing out on the artistry of many wonderful TV shows, and attention spans continue to decrease. Watching your favorite TV show or new movie in theaters used to be exciting, but now that excitement is dwindling, as less and less people seem to care. The solution is a balance between both worlds. TikTok and other forms of social media are not going away, so it’s clear that kids growing up in this generation need to learn to manage their free time spent between the two.
