I’m sure the lack of patience, or at least the perceived lack of patience, is a generational thing and nothing new. Our elders undoubtedly complained about us as well. However, in terms of attention span, I have noticed a rather distinct cut-off at about 40 years of age in today’s population. This puts the date of birth for this group in 1983 or later. By the time that group reached 20 years of age (2003), the internet was pervasive, cell phones were in general use, and much of the framework for the current world was in place. It’s not so much when you were born, but rather what you grew up with as a young adult.
Here are several GENERAL (not absolute) examples of behaviors of this group that I’ve noticed:
- People under 40 are incapable of watching an entire movie. Maybe they can sit in a theater and endure explosions and CGI effects for Fast and Furious 47 or some comic book themed material suitable for a 10-year-old; but they can’t focus for a 120-minute movie that has a plot with characters and actual dialog.
- If it’s printed on paper, it has little value to them.
- If that printed material is in the form of an actual book, forget it, they’re not capable of reading it or comprehending it if they attempt to read it.
- Any verbal information that takes more than a sound bite to convey overwhelms them.
- Their vocabulary is extremely limited, and their writing skills are poor.
- Their knowledge of history is pitiful. They are not simply ignorant of history; they are downright hostile to learning history. This makes them very susceptible to manipulation – to them everything is “unprecedented” or “an existential threat”. They are reluctant to believe that similar circumstances have occurred before. (perhaps we can learn from those prior events?)
- They have a warped sense of time or at least very poor time management skills. They compensate for this with the use of cell phones. Deprive them of constant communication and they cannot make meetings and rendezvous. Nor can they navigate beyond extremely well-known territory.
OK, I know that’s a little harsh and not every person under 40 exhibits those traits, but it’s not totally off the chart either.
Sorry if that comes across as a rant. It is not a rant, just observation.