Not long ago, one would wait with excitement for a long,

hand-written letter in the mail

Image: Muffet flickr

...But now,

Our generation can’t be bothered to read a post longer than

140 characters!Image: Rosaura Ochoa flickr

As social media markets continue to

expand

Our attention spans seem to shrink

Image: Charlotte Spencer

Facebook posts of 80 characters or fewer have a 27% higher rate of engagement than longer posts

Image: factoryjoe flickr

Today’s students are increasingly affected by this

phenomena

Image: Jonathan Rissmeyer flickr

In the classroom, teachers have to do a

Song and Dance

to capture their attentionImage: mrsdkrebs flickr

Students can be less tenacious if the answer isn't a few clicks away.

They want instant gratification

Image: spanaut flickr

As humans, we have always been wired for instant gratification, but technology has kicked up that

biological need.

Image: Rev Dan Catt flickr

It’s like an addiction

fueled by

Social media

Image: opensourceway flickr

The need for instant gratification underlies most addictions;

Sex Drugs

Alcohol Gambling

Image: mioi flickr

The hit when you get a good email is like the hit of winning money.

Image: cheukiecfu flickr

We try to prevent our children from

gambling,

but there isn’t the same cultural awareness about

how addicting digital technology can be

Image: istargazer flickr

Perhaps the most devastating consequence

of this addiction is the absence of

common courtesy

Image: Brooklyn Museum flickr

27 percent of those over 25 allow social media updates to interrupt meals,

and 11 percent admit to checking updates during sex

Image: Mr. I1/4 flickr

The need for a quick technology fix is making people not only

less focused, but also

less considerate.

Image: Steve Snodgrass flickr

Inevitably, perhaps, instant gratification comes at the expense of civility

Image: morberg flickr

As a society, we have to remember back, long ago, when time spent with loved ones

meant more than a Tweet,

when a relationship status updatesimply wasn’t necessary

Image: adwriter flickr

Objects and experiences acquire value through the act of waiting

Image: Ilyas Imran flickr

Wait long enough,

and our lives can be filled with invaluable experiences.

Image: mortimer flickr

So keep waiting...

Image: nhburdick flickr

Sourceshttp://marketingland.com/short-attention-spans-and-social-media-how-to-fight-back-2435http://magazine.nd.edu/news/27926-gotta-have-it-now-right-now/http://edudemic.com/2012/12/14-twitter-statistics-you-may-not-know/http://www.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/mar/11/technology-internet-pupil-attention-teachinghttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-galinsky/kids-and-technology_b_2068862.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/06/youth-interrupt-sex-to-an_n_525839.htmlhttp://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/twitter-stats_b32050

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