Blame the Content Not the Attention Span

Ah, Gen Z. The scapegoatfor everything that bafflesthe older generations.Listen closely and youmay hear the collective grumble ofmarketers, advertisers and contentcreators lamenting, “Oh, Gen Zhas no attention span! They justcan’t focus anymore.” Let me stopyou right there, my chronologicallyadvanced friends. The issue is notGen Z’s attention span. The issueis your content.

You see, the narrative goes likethis. Gen Z can’t sit through longform content. They are glued totheir phones, endlessly scrolling,consuming bite-sized TikToks and15-second Instagram Reels likedigital junkies. The problem withthat narrative? It’s lazy, outdatedand quite frankly, annoying. Ifanything, Gen Z has mastered theart of content curation, not contentavoidance. Let me explain.

Remember the good old dayswhen people would skim throughnewspapers, channel surf on theirclunky TVs or roam the aisles oflibraries to find a good read? Thatwas your version of scrolling. Andguess what? It was exactly thesame thing. The only difference isthat we now have smartphonesinstead of remotes, TikTok insteadof channels and Netflix instead ofCD/DVD collections.

Scrolling through social media is not some indication of intellectual laziness; it is an evolved form of finding what is worth our time.

So, when peoplesay Gen Z can’t sit through afeature-length film or a YouTubevideo over 10 minutes, I haveto laugh. This is the samegeneration who eagerly bingewatch entire seasons of showsin one weekend, listen to hourlong podcasts, and wait for NikoOmilana to drop nearly hour-longYouTube episodes trolling theleader of the KKK (that couldjust be me).

They are not incapable ofpaying attention. They are justruthless with what earns it. If yourcontent doesn’t hook them withinthe first few seconds, that is nottheir shortcoming. That is yourcontent problem.

Let’s unpack this ‘short attentionspan’ myth further. Gen Z isn’tdisengaged; we are discerning.The truth is, Gen Z is inundatedwith content options – probablymore than any generationbefore them. So yes, they havedeveloped the skill to quickly judgewhether something is worth theirtime. If it’s boring, repetitive, ortrying too hard to be ‘relatable’(more on that later), they will swipeaway faster than you can say,“Okay, Boomer.”

But don’t mistake this quickjudgment for an inability to focus.Once something resonates withthem, they are all in. Look at thepopularity of true crime podcasts,multi-part TikTok story times, oreven book series like A Court ofThorns and Roses that dominateGen Z’s reading lists. Gen Z ishere for the long haul, just givethem a reason to stay.

Here is a reality check. No generation has ever liked ads.

Not the Boomers, not Gen X, notMillennials and certainly not GenZ. The difference is that previousgenerations tolerated thembecause they had no choice. Mymother, for instance, would switchchannels during commercialbreaks. It wasn’t because shewas impatient; it was becauseads interrupted what she actuallywanted to watch.

Now, Gen Z has the powerto skip, block or scroll past adsentirely. And this terrifies usmarketers. But instead of facingup to the real challenge andmaking ads that people actuallywant to watch, some take theeasy way out and blame them forbeing ‘impossible to engage.’ Well,tough luck. If your ad feels like achore, we are not sticking around.The art of advertising lies inmaking people watch somethingthey didn’t want to watch and thenconvincing them to care. So don’tgive us the ‘short attention
span’ excuse; make somethingworth our time.

Let’s talk about relatability.Somewhere along the way,someone decided that Gen Z’sinterests could be boiled downto a checklist: hip-hop, dance,social causes and memes. Cuethe barrage of ads featuringcringe-worthy TikTok dances, rapparodies and forced inclusivity.It’s like slapping a ginger wigon Voldemort and hoping HarryPotter will suddenly trust himbecause “Hey, he looks like Ronnow!” Spoiler: it doesn’t work.True relatability comes fromauthenticity. It’s about reflectingour real lives, challengesand aspirations, not somecaricatured version of what youthink Gen Z will connect with.They will take a brand that ishonest about who they are overone that is desperately trying tobe cool any day.

Here is another thing that marketers love to do: jump on trends.

If one brand’s dancecentric ad goes viral, suddenlyeveryone is putting out dancevideos. But let me tell you, trendsdon’t equal insights.

The most powerful campaignscome from digging deep intohuman truths; the kind of insightsthat feel like confessions. You know,the ones that make you say, “Wow,how did they know that aboutme?” Case in point, Nike’s ‘What ittakes to win.’ It’s not about hoppingon the latest TikTok challenge; it’sabout understanding your audienceso well that your message feelspersonal, even universal. That iswhat hooks Gen Z and everyoneelse too. That is what keepseveryone coming back.

At the end of the day, the issueis not Gen Z’s attention span.It is the lack of creativity andinnovation in the content they arebeing served. As a generation,they have grown up in a world ofendless options. If you want theirattention, you have to earn it. Andyes, that is a high bar. But isn’t thatwhat makes it worth striving for?

No Gen Z is looking for brandsto pander to them with dancemoves and slang. They arelooking for stories that inspire,entertain and reflect the worldthey live in. They are looking forproducts that solve real problemsor bring genuine joy. And yes, theyare looking for ads that don’t feellike ads – the kind that make uslaugh, cry or think.

So, to anyone still clinging tothe idea that Gen Z has a shortattention span: it’s time to letthat myth die. They are not theproblem. The problem is boring,uninspired content that tries toohard to be something it’s not.

If you want to capture their attention, don’t dumb things down or slap a trendy label on it.

Dig deeper. Find the insight that feelslike a confession. Make them feelseen. Because when you do, theywill give you their time, and notjust for 15 seconds but for as longas your content deserves.

Sameer Ali is Creative Director, BBDO Pakistan.