Web surfers' attention spans shortening

Marketers have yet another hurdle to get over when seeking attention from online consumers. Attention spans are shortening and Internet users have one eye on the Internet and the other elsewhere, so what's the answer?

by Helen Leggatt

A survey by Burst Media found that Internet users usually combine surfing the Internet with other activities such as watching television, working, talking on the phone, playing games or listening to the radio.

Eighty-two percent of respondents merged another activity with their web browsing, and 23 percent managed to juggle four or more activites while online.

The answer? Use coordinated messages across a number of different platforms, suggests Jarvis Coffin, CEO and co-founder of Burst Media. “This is particularly true between television and the Internet – it’s a tactic that has been used by many marketers to great success, and is a cost-effective way to reach target audiences,” he said.

Burst Media discovered that just over three-quarters of those that watch television while surfing the web visit websites directly associated with the program they are watching. Men aged 18-24 are the most likely to simultaneously watch related web and television content.