We are all busy these days, and while those of us here in Crestview live a slower-paced life than those in New York City or Los Angeles, we still face traffic congestion, work and school deadlines as well as numerous other responsibilities.
I have noticed in this fast-paced society that people read headlines, but not the accompanying article, and make comments based upon the headline rather than the article's content.
Many times a headline is somewhat sensational to pique interest, but on Facebook and other social media, comments are often made without actually knowing what the article said.
It is sad that one cannot take the time to read a three- to five-paragraph article and see what is really being said, rather than just the headline.
It reminds me of the adage, never judge a book by its cover. How many books have looked wonderful from the cover illustration, yet been dry as dust and others look boring and yet are fabulous thrillers?
Then there is the halfway group that begins the article but doesn’t read it in its entirety, so facts get construed incorrectly, and misinformation is relayed due to not reading the entire article.
We live in a microwave society; we don't want to wait, we want everything, including our news or other information, to be given in 10-second sound bites, but many times that isn't possible.
According to http://www.statisticbrain.com/attention-span-statistics/, "the average attention span in 2015 was 8.25 seconds" and "the average attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds."
We, as American adults, need to work on this. Only 28 percent of the words are read from an article of about 600 words.
I find this happens even in articles the Crestview News Bulletin posts on Facebook. People post comments without reading the article. We need to read the article in its entirety and see what terrific information it may contain. Some pieces contain great tips and information at the end of the article.
We need to be proactive readers and see what the writer really has to say. Let's be good readers this summer!
Janice Lynn Crose, a former accountant, lives in Crestview with her husband, Jim; her two rescue collies, Shane and Jasmine; and two cats, Kathryn and Prince Valiant.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Let's be good readers this summer