HOMEWORK

A MINUTE OF YOUR TIME...

By Peter Kafka
Everyone knows that YouTube is one of the most popular websites in the world. Yet
nobody actually watches that much video on it. Confused? Don’t be. There’s a simple
explanation: people who watch a lot of videos. But none of the clips are very long. Just
like TV viewers, they’re always looking for the latest thing. In fact, it is unlikely that most
viewers will get to the end of longer video clips.
It’s common sense, really. Tube Mogul, a company that studies people’s viewing habits,
shows exactly how long the average web video watcher stays with any particular clip.
Answer: Less than one minute!
Ten seconds into an average clip – which is nothing – and more hat 10% of viewers have
started watching something else, Tube Mogul says! And by 60 second, more than half of
viewers have closed the window. Anything more than five minutes is exceptional: more
than 91% of viewers have gone by then.
Are you finding it hard to believe that our attention spans are so short? Let me invite you
to put it to the test. Click play on the 6 minute, 48 – second clip below: Stevie Wonder
singing ‘Superstition’. If anyone gets all the way to the end, I’ll send them a link to a free
album download!

1. Work in pairs. Look at the title of an article about online video clips and the
'audience attention Spain' chart. What do you think the article is going to say about
video clips?
The article and photography refers to the attention of viewers, because people when
they enter when browsing the Internet watch videos through the YouTube platform,
but that the same people only take a small amount of time to view it.
2. Read the article. Choose the best answer to the questions in 1.

a. Many video clips on YouTube are only one minute long.

b. Most people who watch YouTube stop watching after one minutes
c. According to a survey, one-minute video clips are the most popular type
on YouTube

3. Read the article again. Are the sentences true or false? If false, explain why
 a. YouTube watchers are similar to television viewers. False, because even
though YouTube is the most viewed platform, the videos only last a few
minutes.

b. Tube Mogul is a website that show video clips. False, Tube Mogul, a
company that studies people's viewing habits, shows exactly how long the
average web video observer stays with any particular clip.

c. Most views stop watching after ten seconds. True

d. Fewer than 10% of people watch clips for longer than five minutes. True

4. Work in groups. Discuss the questions.

a. Does any of the information in the article surprise you? If yes, what and
why?
I was surprised that the YouTube platform even though it is the most
popular worldwide, no one really sees so much video on it.

b. Do you think the internet has an influence on people’s ability to

concentrate?
I think that because the Internet today is an indispensable tool for human
use.

c. Dou you think we have developed any new skills as the result of the
internet?
Unlike the Internet, it is more easily generated to the human being that we
increasingly lose that development.