We live in a society where our attention spans are dwindling…fast! Following a rather stressful experience this morning I would like to kindly request that we all attempt to write shorter paragraphs.
I recently embarked on the journey of beginning a masters degree. During the enrolment process I was required to choose my modules online. However unfortunately the instructions on how to do so were unclear, to say the least. Buried deep within long paragraphs outlining the procedure were pertinent bits of information on the requirements for your selection.
These key steps should have been written in a separate paragraph altogether (here’s one I made earlier…)
Unsurprisingly this was not my first encounter with mammoth paragraphs. This was, albeit, the first time it pertained to the outcome of a rather important decision…which is what made the whole thing all the more worrying. The main point of the whole exercise had been lost in translation; in that it had not been communicated effectively. Ironically the degree falls within the media and communications department but I’m hoping this was simply an error on the admin side.
I’m sure I’m not the first person to have been aggravated by lengthy pieces of text which fail to make a point (this may even be an example of one now), but I would like to use this post as a sort of public service announcement to all the official institutions out there (I’m looking at you Apple Terms and Conditions Department) to perhaps use more clear and concise wording in your documentation.
Thanking you all kindly in advance…
Yours sincerely,
A millennial with the attention span of…well…a millennial
