Gen Z and Attention Span by Isabella

Gen Z and Attention Span by Isabella - March 2022 Scholarship Essay

At a young age, most people are smothered with attention. Whether it is intentional or not, is beside the point. The love children are given from a very young age motivates them to continue doing behaviors that elicit the same response. The child walks for the first time, attention. The child speaks their first words, attention. The child rides a bike by themself, attention. In other words, operant conditioning. Almost every person in Generation Z has some form of conditioning set in place by their parent(s), me included. This is what has caused so many problems with my generation.

Now, imagine that the child I had previously mentioned grew older and older. Do they still receive that same attention and praise for accomplishing tasks? No, because that is what comes with growing up. Everyone expects you to do the bare minimum without any recognition for the completion of these tasks. Nobody is going to congratulate you out of the blue for getting to work on time or keeping your house plants alive or making your bed every morning. It’s just expected that you will finish tasks whether you want to or not. This realization hit me in the face like a brick my sophomore year of high school.

I had been enrolled in an engineering program for the past year and a half now, and I wasn’t enjoying it. I had originally enrolled thinking that it would be a solid plan because it could provide me with a stable paycheck after college. I wasn’t thinking about what would make me happy, even though my parents were very adamant about emphasizing that I should only do something that would make me happy because they didn’t want me to end up like them. So, I decided to grab my life by the reigns and dive into what brought me joy. Checking the boxes and just getting the right answers did not give me joy, nor did it give me the self-validation to create solid confidence in myself.

What makes people happy is usually individualized for each person and yet many social media platforms have taken advantage of this by creating a platform that only shows short-form, with every new video comes a new burst of serotonin, and if not there’s another chance of serotonin just a few swipes away. Short-form media has Generation Z in a death grip. You can find joy in almost any form of media because there is such a wide abundance of types

This death grip has transcended into communicating with others. With texting becoming the primary form of communication between friends, calling someone over the phone became more obsolete. Phone calls are the promise of long conversations that may even last hours while texting gives people the option to stop talking whenever they feel like it. Social media platforms have taken advantage of that by adding features like "Direct Messaging" into their platforms. Conversations with others become dueling matches, and with every statement, you need to have a witty comeback to keep the other person's attention. You're trying to be as interesting as the other person is so you can continue the conversation.

For me, I found theater to be the serotonin boost that provided me with immediate feedback. With the struggle of trying to find something that would keep my attention, the theatre provided the challenge and variety that many things lacked. It holds my attention, just like any well-crafted social media platform would. Even though my generation struggles with attention, without immediate feedback. I know that the struggle of seeking validation will not stop me from doing what I love and pursuing an education that is fulfilling for me.