The average human attention span is now shorter than a goldfish’s -- seriously. A recent Microsoft study found that the average human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in 2000 (or around the time mobile phones hit the scene) to eight seconds today. In comparison, scientists believe that the goldfish has an attention span of nine seconds.
We are constantly bombarded by texts, tweets, push notifications, ads, Facebook posts, emails and more, and our brains get hooked on all that stimuli. We crave more and more new information, and it can be difficult to pay attention to any one thing for very long. Conversely, it also makes it difficult to hold anyone’s attention for very long. This creates a significant challenge for marketers, whose entire job is to cut through the noise and meaningfully engage with consumers.