Morning Pogue,

I wrote a poem at the end of last week about something I had observed. People want information in short sharp bursts. You see, I can spend a lot of time writing a longer piece, packing in thoughts and feelings and, well a handful of people will read it. But I can pen a poem, five or six words to a line, ten lines long and many more people will read it and “like” it. I mean “like” is the goal isn’t it? We all want to be liked.

Is this a sign of the age? Is the average person’s attention span so diminished that they now need to be communicated within seconds rather then minutes? I fear there’s coming a generation who, for the most part, will struggle to cope with anything longer than a text. Or maybe I am overestimating my own interestingness.

The same way we discovered that the sedentary lifestyle of the 20th century required us to physically exert our bodies into shape, I think we’re on the cusp of something similar for our minds.

Mark Manson, 27 Minute Read

But here’s a thing. Make a point of observing how many people are conversing, or reading, or doing anyone of a number of tasks whilst applying attention to their device. To be frank, I’d rather not talk to someone who keeps glancing at their phone rather than have to share their attention. And what is coming through their phone demands less thought or focus than a structured dialogue. Often it’s coming one short sentence at a time and requiring little thought.

You tell me. Should we say, “If you want to talk to me put that away”? But for the meantime I’ll practice writing some short and punchy stuff because, as said, we all want to be “liked” for what we do. More poetry I guess. And with that I’ll finish as I am already overlong in my letter.

Yours, with brevity,

Wic