Manasi Zalte
Once you find that ‘2x’ button on videos, there’s no going back. There was a time when most of us could sit through a three-hour film without losing focus. Today, even a three-minute video can feel unnecessarily long. From online lectures to reels and YouTube shorts, we often consume content at double speed. If speed is an option, the original pace feels like a waste of time.
Has it ever happened that someone is talking to you at a normal speed, and you feel like the person is speaking too slowly? Almost as if you could press a 2x speed button on them? That impatience reflects the shrinking of our attention spans.
Our brains are so used to watching and hearing everything so quickly that even the normal speed feels ‘too slow’ for us. When we watch short videos or reels, our brain releases a chemical called ‘dopamine’, making us feel satisfied and motivated. One dopamine hit leads to another, and eventually, we end up scrolling for hours.
Here’s the catch: our brain loves quick rewards with minimal effort. That’s why we lose interest in longer videos. But it doesn’t stop there. Tasks that require patience, such as reading, studying, or even sitting in silence, start to feel uncomfortable. We get restless, anxious, and distracted. Impatience and losing interest in things more quickly than before are some examples.
Over time, the quality of performance in our academic and work lives starts to fade away. Our minds become restless, and we feel anxious all the time. Eventually, it disrupts our sleep cycle, our eating habits, and also results in a long prescription from your eye doctor.
The solution? Surprisingly simple. Intentionally engage in slow activities on a daily basis. Walking in silence, being present while eating, reading, meditating, are some of them. These activities provide a dopamine hit, but in a healthy way, and replace the feeling of satisfaction from the reels. Sometimes, the real flex isn’t finishing faster. It’s being able to stay present without needing the 2x button.
(The writer is a psychology student).