Image Credit: David/Pixabay

Prologue 

We often categorise generations based on their age or time period of birth and not on their pattern of consumption. But a new trend is emerging these days which calls to break this custom of age division due to its prevalence across all ages. The digital era has ushered in a relentless pursuit of immediacy, thereby begetting a 1-minute generation whose attention spans are shrinking, and nuanced understanding seems to be a distant memory. This trend, often labelled as the one-minute or 60-second culture, is fueled by the hyper-connectivity of social media, the constant barrage of fleeting information, and the expectation of instant solutions. This article explores how this one minute culture- encompassing everything from the 1-minute read, the 1-minute reel, the 1-minute activity, the 1-minute concept, the 1-minute strategy, the 1-minute technique to the 1-minute paper, 1-minute habit and 1-minute mindset shift- is not only shaping our perception of information but also contributing to a multidimensional gulf: a widening chasm in understanding, empathy, self-confidence, authentic knowledge, correct diagnosis, the ability to engage in meaningful and complex discussions and the ultimate reality.

The Rise of the 1-Minute Generation

The one-minute mindset is characterised by a preference for concise, easily digestible and few-clicks available content. Social media platforms, ed-tech companies, and entities engaged in digitally managing public relations thrive on this trend, offering snippets of information and entertainment that are designed to grab attention in seconds. This relentless focus on brevity has seeped into various aspects of our lives, from how we consume information and learn to how we communicate, act and relate to one another.

The Multidimensional Gulf: A Deepening Divide

This shift in our consumption habits has created a multi-dimensional gulf, impacting several key areas and stakeholders.

The Empathy Gap

The 1-minute mindset often prioritises surface-level interaction and superficial engagement, leading to a decline in empathy and understanding. Moreover, the uncontrolled use of artificial intelligence in content creation results in pseudo content, which often goes against many of our standard ethics if the same is created with actual intelligence under complete consciousness. For instance, deep fakes propagating myths over facts, VFX spreading humour through harm, be it animal harm or nature harm, and influencers delivering pre-compiled information without a source check are some cases we experience every day. Thus, the complex issues which often require careful consideration and nuanced perspectives are reduced to soundbites and fleeting reactions and hence creating a lack of compassion for others, indifference in real emergency situation (or should I say the urge to capture the moment through lights, camera and Inaction!) and an inability to grasp the depth of their experiences.

The Information Vacuum

The rapid-fire delivery of information, coupled with a lack of critical thinking and deep engagement, creates a void in understanding. While the 1-minute read and 1-minute reel can provide a quick overview, they often lack the content and depth necessary for truly grasping the complex ideas. This 1-minute read/reel culture is supposed to supplement your learning through a quick introduction and later quick revision, and not to become a foundation for your course. Excessive reliance on these quick bites for every type of demand and perceived sought-after content leads to misinformation and a distorted view of reality, thereby creating a base to spread disinformation.

The focus on memorisation and regurgitation of information over critical thinking and analytical skills hinders a student’s ability to learn and apply knowledge effectively. The constant barrage of short-form content makes it difficult to focus, understand and apply the received information effectively. The 1-minute activity and 1-minute paper cultures are supposed to act as a pinch of salt over the delicacy of carefully edited words and well-versed sounds. Their relentless application leads to unhealthy competition and a reason to run after 1-minute content to master a 1-minute exam with a 1-minute performance.

The Communication Breakdown

The excessive emphasis on brevity and immediate responses erodes our ability to engage in meaningful and thoughtful conversations. The burgeoning expectation of instant solutions leads to impulsive reactions and a lack of patience for nuanced arguments, which further exacerbate misunderstandings and deepen the divide between different perspectives. The preference of 1-minute digital advice streamed by an unknown over tested and applied information given by a known entity detrimentally affects the social fabric. The 1-minute media becomes social, but the real society reduces to a medium.

The Reality Shortfall

Hi, Emily! How am I looking? Does it go with it? What should I do? Should I try this? Should I buy this? Would it cost much? Would it be a perfect fit? How far should I go? How should I go? Which is the best time for it? What, when, where, how, what-if, what-not… Relax, this is not even the tip of the iceberg! You are not supposed to be prepared to answer all these. The 1-minute generation will never ask you such a question. They will either make a post on social media and constantly check it for instant gratification or surf with minimum clicks for a 1-minute solution, which may lead them to another problem, and they will again for its resolution, which this time may not guarantee success. So, they may go for many hours through 1-minute content in the hope of saving time by deliberately neglecting a detailed solution. If it is only about gratification, the unmindful surf will only harm your self-confidence, soft skills, presence of mind and social relations. But if it is about some health issues, self-diagnosis and that too a misdiagnosis can exacerbate the issue and entangle you in the threads of unconnected and interconnected solutions, not conducive for your situation. If you are lucky enough, you will not encounter any irreversible damage. But if you are not, you may carry the souvenirs of your experiments and courage.

Promise and Perils that the 1-minute Generation Encounters

• Edel Barnes in The One Minute Paper and Assessment Innovation at Third Level: A Teaching Note reflects on the usefulness of one-minute papers in developing students’ ability to derive their sense of meaning and identification with lecture topics.
• Similarly, Damian Whittard, Elizabeth Green, Mariyam Shaffau Shareef, and Idrees Ismail, in The Multidimensional Model of the One-Minute Paper: Advancing Theory through Theoretical Elaboration, emphasise that the 1-minute paper (OMP) can support learning and teaching.
• Jade C. Gurtala and Jasmine Fardouly in Does Medium Matter? Investigating the Impact of Viewing Ideal Image or Short-Form Video Content on Young Women’s Body Image, Mood, and Self-Objectification highlighted that viewing ideal videos/images increases body dissatisfaction, negative mood and women’s self-objectification.
• Yuhan Chen and Mingming Li in The Effect of Short-Form Video Addiction on Users’ Attention find the inverse relationship between watching short-form videos and sustained attention, along with attentional concentration for processing interference.
• Xie J, Xu X, Zhang Y, Tan Y, Wu D, Shi M and Huang H in The Effect of Short-Form Video Addiction on Undergraduates’ Academic Procrastination: A Moderated Mediation Model find that short-form video addiction directly and indirectly (through attentional control) impacts academic procrastination.
• Jiang L and Yoo Y in Adolescents’ Short-Form Video Addiction and Sleep Quality: The Mediating Role of Social Anxiety find a significant correlation between short-form video addiction, sleep quality and social anxiety.
• Francesco Chiossi, Luke Haliburton, Changkun Ou, Andreas Butz and Albrecht Schmidt in Short-form Videos Degrade Our Capacity to Retain Intentions: Effect of Context Switching on Prospective Memory indicate that short videos and rapid context switching negatively affect intention recall and execution.

The 1-minute culture is not confined to short videos. But the frequency of research is skewed towards short video content due to the relentless advent and rapid advancement in this area. Research on OMP is getting pace, but other elements of 1-minute culture, which are equally important, are still obscure in the world of research. Nevertheless, we experience them in every moment- in the form of competitions, campaigns, rallies, speeches, tutorials, pieces of advice, activities and examinations. A 1-minute concept is not bad in its own form. The United Nations also uses it. Have you heard or seen on UN website the one-minute challenge: shoot a video about groundwater? It is the frequency and context that puts a blot on the image of one minute culture and begets an altogether new generation transcending all generations.

Bridging the Gulf: A Call for More Than a Minute Engagement

To mitigate the negative effects of one-minute culture and thwart the tendency of the 1-minute generation to widen the already existing abyss, we need to consciously cultivate a more mindful approach to information consumption and engagement. Here are some ways to bridge the multi-dimensional gulf:

Prioritise Depth over Speed

Learn new concepts while you have enough time. Learning pace is different from that of revision. Make time for in-depth reading, thoughtful reflection and meaningful conversations. Embrace the value of sustained engagement and resist the urge to always seek an instant solution. Allow your mind to make mistakes, find it and consciously and sub-consciously store it for future reference so that you may internalise any concept in a true sense.

Cultivate Critical Thinking

Develop the ability to analyse information critically, evaluate sources, identify biases and cross-check facts (if any). Challenge your assumptions and engage with different perspectives. Refrain from instant reactions and forwards.

Embrace Empathy

Make conscious efforts to understand the experiences and perspectives of others, even if they differ from your own. Listen actively and engage in open-minded dialogue. Respect the context and milieu of other persons. Refrain from prejudicial judgments and self-concealing biases.

Adopt 1-Minute Form for 1-Minute Only.

Due to its crisp form, one minute may change your life positively if you adopt intended 1-minute habits, 1-minute productive breaks, 1-minute attention shift, 1-minute gaze shift, 1-minute start and 1-minute reflection with planned intervals without succumbing to any temptation.

Let’s embrace life in unity, not in a divided form of one minute each!

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