Content Attention Spans Continue to Contract!

It is quite hard to argue against the notion that content attention spans in the digital era have contracted, leading to more consumption of content on a “snackable” basis. 

The evolution of digital content consumption can be divided into distinct eras, each characterized by dominant formats and corresponding attention spans:

In the Early Internet Era (1995-2005), content was primarily accessed using desktop computers, with long-form articles, blogs, and early videos dominating. Typical lengths ranged from 800 to 2000 words for articles and five to 10 minutes for videos. 

In the Social Media Era (2005-2015) typical formats included social media posts (100-500 words), tweets (initially 140 characters), and early videos averaging 1-3 minutes. 

By 2015, studies, such as a widely cited Microsoft report, indicated that the average attention span had dropped to around eight seconds, a 25 percent decrease from 2000.

In the next era of “Short-Form Content” (2015-2025) mobile devices and mobile apps led to ultra-short content formats, such as five second to 30 second videos and stories (up to 15 seconds). 

In 2025, research suggests attention spans remain around eight to 8.25 seconds, in some cases up to 12 seconds.

Era	Dominant Content Format	Typical Length	Estimated Attention Span	Key Platforms/Technologies	Behavior
Early Internet (1990s-2000s)	Webpages, Blogs, Long-form Articles	800-2000+ words	5-10 minutes	Early websites (e.g., GeoCities), Email Newsletters	Users engaged with detailed, text-heavy content; slower internet encouraged in-depth reading. Microsoft, 2015
Social Media Rise (2005-2015)	Social Media Posts, Short Blogs, Early Videos	100-500 words, 1-3 min videos	2-5 minutes	MySpace, early Facebook, YouTube	Shift to visual and social content; users began skimming posts and watching short videos. Microsoft, 2015
Mobile Era (2015-2020)	Microblogs, Short Videos, Infographics	280 characters, 15-60 sec videos	8-15 seconds	Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Snapchat	Mobile-first consumption led to "scroll culture"; quick, visually appealing content dominated. ProfileTree, 2025
Short-Form Content Boom (2020-2025)	Reels, Stories, Micro-videos, Memes	5-30 sec videos, single images	3-8 seconds	TikTok, Instagram Reels, X Posts	Algorithm-driven platforms prioritize instant engagement; attention spans shrink to seconds.

Some also would point to changing user platforms, content formats and interfaces. We used to consume “pages.” Then we began consuming posts, then clips and now, using artificial intelligence, we avoid search and just want “answers.”

source: Dan Goikhman