Social Media Change

As technology pushes forward, impacts can be seen in all aspects of life. Social media is a popular form of communicating. I have focused on one way that it has played a role on the way that we communicate and receive messages today. 

Short and Sweet

One of the ways that social media has effected communication is evident in styles of writing and the way in which we share a message. Many of the popular social media platforms give limited space for communicating, which has contributed to the popularity of short messages. In our fast paced world, value has been placed in the ability to receive a message within a matter of seconds. This can be illustrated by a study that was conducted by Nielsen Norman Group. They found that on an average web page, users had time to read 28% of the words at the most. However, a percentage of 20% was much more likely. This study may be shocking to some. Let’s take a closer look at the way that social media has played a factor in studies such as this.

How Did This Happen to Me?

Social media platforms all have limited space available to share a message. By looking at the limits currently in place, we may come to a better understanding as to why people are growing more accustomed to consuming short messages.

The following are examples of limits or restraints held by popular platforms:

-          Twitter: 140 character limit

-          Twitter tweets with a URL: 118 characters

-          Vine: 6 seconds

-          Instagram video: 15 seconds

-          Snap Chat video: 10 seconds

These kinds of restrictions can be seen in more than just social media. The average limit for characters in a text message is 160 characters.

Now What?

In January 2012, Forbes.com published an article that questioned whether social media was shortening our attention span. In that publication, we learn that some large news firms, such as USA Today and Fox News, have seen the need to shorten new clips in order to maintain viewer attention. That article was published two years ago and, yet, the same challenge exists today. The New York Times released a similar article just two days ago, detailing the plans that NBC has to create short news clips. According to that article, NBC News will produce videos as brief as six seconds.  

It is clear that the length of the messages have been effected by social media. What other changes do you think will come about as a result of these platforms?