The rapid developments in the digital entertainment realm are often talked about in a positive light, and rightly so. From a technical perspective, all of the innovations we have been getting as consumers are highly impressive, with the supposed ceiling for these vehicles rising ever higher.
With a near-infinite content stream, though, come problems that have sparked many passionate conversations and debates. Many believe that the endless feeds of videos, games, social media, and other byte-sized digital entertainment have conditioned our brains to crave new stimuli constantly, naturally leading to various potential cognitive problems.
However, how real are these concerns? What does the research point to? And as consumers, how do we combat these problems, in case they exist? Below, we will try to explore all of these questions in more detail.
Attention Span Studies
The original study that is often used as a reference point for many of the newer ones is the research conducted in the year 2000. It demonstrated that an average human has an attention span of 12 seconds.
Since then, there have been several other big studies around this same topic. The first massive decrease was highlighted in 2015 when a Microsoft research team demonstrated a 4-second decrease from that original reference point.
Of course, this drop coincides with the rise of smartphone and social media adoption. With endless nuggets of informational candy quite literally at our fingertips, our brains have been conditioned to be distracted. Constant switching between different apps, videos, tweets, etc., provides a kind of digital dopamine hit that previous generations never encountered.
To make a point about just how powerful these effects can be, we can look at some unfortunate examples of various tribes that previously had no access to anything even remotely resembling a simple phone, receiving the full array of the vast digital entertainment world.
For example, one such tribe, the Marubo, was provided with internet access through Starlink. While it initially brought benefits like faster medical help and access to TV, the tribe soon allegedly struggled with addictions due to mediums like video games, social media platforms, and whatnot being unlike anything they have encountered.
Reading to the Rescue
As was established, on-demand entertainment can be fun, but it comes at the potential neurological cost of undermining our cognitive endurance for deep focus over longer periods. And focus is crucially important for extracting knowledge and developing our intellectual faculties. This is where reading can come to the rescue.
The cognitive work required to parse written narratives or absorb sequences of higher-level ideas strengthens crucial neural pathways. Reading is akin to taking your mind to the gym for some weightlifting. It enhances skills like sustaining attention, comprehension, memory formation, vocabulary acquisition, and understanding ambiguous ideas from limited context.
To engage with this medium, a consumer has several options. Conversations about paperback vs. ebook are as active as ever, but the gist of it comes down to the following:
Some studies suggest physical books may be better for sustained, immersive reading focus. The tactile sensation of holding something bounded and flipping pages can feel more "real" and cement memory for narrative sequencing. E-books can introduce temptations for digital distractions if using a device like a tablet.
However, other research indicates that comprehension differences between mediums are negligible when external distractions are controlled. E-book fans tout advantages like portability and functionality, such as text highlighting.
Moreover, e-books tend to be more cost-effective, allowing users to buy more books even with limited funds. They are also environmentally friendly, as printing books requires an astounding volume of trees to be cut down.
Ultimately, personal reading medium preferences can vary. Regardless, what is clear is that whichever format one chooses, making a habit of reading high-quality texts over digital entertainment for at least 30 to 60 minutes per day can pay huge cognitive dividends. Why is it clear?
For starters, a well-known study from the University of Sussex found that getting lost in a gripping novel can temporarily enhance connectivity in brain regions that govern body movements and sensory experience. This allows readers to live out the experiences in the text. In essence, reading is a profound exercise in imagination and perspective-taking—an increasingly vital skill.
Other studies associate sustained reading practice with improved focus, analytical reasoning, and even increased empathy as you consume other narratives. Unlike brief blasts of stimulation from videos or games, reading encourages your mind to remain locked in over a longer, continuous period. This mental endurance training helps push back against distractibility.
In other words, since reading is a 'harder' activity, it is more difficult to stay engaged with the medium when comparing it to most digital entertainment alternatives. As such, it demands more from the brain, forcing it to stay active and parse decently complex information for prolonged periods of time, helping one maintain greater levels of discipline and self-control, translating in the form of stronger attention spans and other cognitive benefits discussed above.
Conclusion
All of this does not mean that one must cut out all forms of digital entertainment to 'save' their brain from some irreversible long-term negative effects. As is true with most things, moderation is key, and in healthy doses, digital entertainment can provide a great vehicle for relaxation and unwinding after long, stressful days.
However, those who are struggling with controlling the time spent consuming this form of entertainment should consider taking steps to substitute this content stream with healthier alternatives like reading.
