NIC HARALAMBOUS

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Are 30 second videos making us stupid?

I think they might be. We want more, faster, shorter, to the point with no detail.As much as I love YouTube and the length of video is often irrelevant I think that the 30 second nature of videos is somewhat problematic.We are bouncing from source to source disregarding integrity of information or authority of source for a quickfix.This is why I think sites like Big Think will become increasingly important. I am concerned for younger generations who are taking what they read, view and listen to online as gospel. For me this is problematic. In the same way that older generations might overlook the value of the Internet I think younger gens are taking it for granted. We cannot be made or led to believe that some of the absolute idiots on YouTube or other video sharing sites are capable of actually having a relevant and worthy opinion.Yes, Yes, I hear you saying that everyone's opinion is valid, but that's really just untrue. If Hitler spoke of equality he would have been disregarded in the same way that Mandela would've been if he spoke of supporting Apartheid. The voice, the message, the source and the integrity are all relevant and invaluable when deciding what to watch, what to listen to and what to believe.I think that 30 second videos might just be making me a bit slow!