There was a time when people could sit for hours watching a movie, reading a book or listening to someone talk without feeling the need to do anything else. A good story could keep us interested for hours. We would wait for our favourite television programme, read a newspaper slowly and sometimes spend an entire evening talking to friends. Today, things seem to have changed. We want everything quickly, and if something does not catch our attention within a few seconds, we move on to something else.
The biggest reason behind this change is the growing habit of watching short videos on social media platforms. Reels, shorts and similar content have become a part of our daily lives. We open our phones for a few minutes, but those few minutes often turn into an hour or more. One video leads to another, and before we realise it, a considerable part of our day has passed without us doing anything meaningful. There is nothing wrong with watching short videos once in a while. They can be entertaining, informative and even useful. The problem begins when we become so accustomed to short content that we start losing interest in anything that requires more time and attention.
Today, many people find it difficult to watch a full movie without checking their phones in between. Some start a film and, within ten minutes, begin scrolling through reels. Others watch a video while eating, check their phones while talking to someone and feel uncomfortable when they have nothing to look at on a screen. Even a few minutes of silence can make us restless.
T2his raises an important question, have we really become so busy, or have we simply lost the patience to give our attention to one thing at a time?
The problem is not limited to entertainment. It is slowly affecting the way we read, study, work and communicate. A student who is used to watching thirty second videos may find it difficult to sit with a chapter for an hour. A person who wants to learn a new skill may lose interest when the process becomes difficult or progress is slow. We want quick results, but we often forget that most worthwhile things in life require time, effort and consistency. Even reading has started to feel like a burden for some people. A long article seems boring, a detailed explanation feels tiring and anything that requires concentration is often postponed. We prefer a short summary over a complete explanation, a few lines over a detailed discussion and instant entertainment over something that asks us to think.
Gradually, we may begin to lose the habit of thinking deeply. We see a headline and form an opinion without reading the complete story. We watch a short clip and believe we understand the entire situation. We hear one side of an argument and immediately decide who is right and who is wrong. The time required to understand something properly is replaced by the desire to react quickly.
Every time we scroll, there is another video waiting for us. Modern technology has become so advanced that algorithms learn our interests, moods and viewing habits, suggesting content based on what we watch and how we react. If we watch something funny, more comedy appears; if something makes us angry or emotional, similar videos follow. There is always something designed to hold our attention for a few more seconds. Before we realise it, those seconds turn into an hour. The difficult part is that we believe we are choosing what to watch, while technology keeps deciding what to show us next. Our phones may be in our hands, but are we really in control of our time?
Another thing that seems to be disappearing is our ability to tolerate boredom. Earlier specially in Kashmir, when people had nothing to do, they would sit outside, observe their surroundings, think about their lives or simply let their minds wander or gossip with neighobours/friends to relieve stress and burden. Children would find ways to entertain themselves. People could travel without constantly looking at a screen. Waiting for someone or standing in a queue was not always an excuse to take out a phone.
Now, the moment we have nothing to do, our hands automatically reach for our phones. We check notifications even when there is nothing important to check. We open social media without any particular reason, scroll for a while and close it, only to open it again a few minutes late Perhaps we have become uncomfortable with our own thoughts. We no longer give ourselves enough time to sit quietly, reflect on our decisions or think about what is happening around us. Every empty moment must be filled with something. And most of the time, that something is another video.
Patience is not only about watching a movie or reading a book. It is an important part of almost everything we do in life. Building a career takes years. Preparing for an examination requires months of discipline. Learning a skill involves making mistakes and trying again. None of these things can be achieved simply by swiping a screen. But when we become used to getting entertainment within seconds, ordinary life can start feeling slow. We want success without the struggle, results without the waiting and happiness without having to deal with discomfort. The moment something becomes difficult, we look for an easier alternative.
Sometimes, a person is sharing something important, but the listener is looking at the screen. A friend is talking, but we are thinking about the next notification. Family members sit together at the dinner table, yet each person is occupied with a different digital world. We may be more connected through technology than ever before, but that does not necessarily mean we are giving each other more attention.
There is also a difference between being informed and being constantly entertained. Social media can expose us to new ideas, current affairs and useful knowledge. But endlessly scrolling from one random video to another does not always leave us wiser. We may spend hours consuming content and still struggle to remember what we watched. Our eyes remain busy, our minds keep receiving information, but very little of it stays with us.
Of course, short videos are not the only reason behind our declining attention. Stress, lack of sleep, work pressure and other distractions also play a role. Technology itself is not the enemy. The real concern is whether we are using it according to our needs or allowing it to control our habits.
The answer does not lie in abandoning smartphones or social media completely. That would neither be practical nor necessary. What we need is a little more control over how we use them. We can put our phones aside while eating, listen properly when someone speaks, read a few pages every day and watch a movie without constantly checking notifications. We can also make an effort to do one thing at a time instead of dividing our attention between several things.
These may appear to be small changes, but habits are built through small actions repeated every day.
We should also remember that not everything valuable in life is designed to entertain us immediately. A good book may take time to become interesting. A difficult subject may require several readings before it makes sense. A meaningful conversation may not be exciting every second. And a worthwhile goal may demand months or years of hard work before we see any result. If we abandon everything the moment it stops entertaining us, we may miss some of the most rewarding experiences of our lives.
Perhaps we will realise the importance of patience only when we need it most. A career cannot be built by watching motivational videos alone. An examination cannot be cleared simply by saving study tips, and a problem cannot always be solved by searching for the quickest answer. Real progress often happens quietly, without excitement or immediate results. There are days when we must keep working even when nothing seems to be changing. If we become accustomed to instant rewards in everything we do, how will we learn to continue when life offers us no immediate reward at all?
Perhaps the greatest loss is not that we are watching too many reels. It is that we are slowly becoming less comfortable with things that require patience. We are learning to skip, swipe and move on, but life does not always work that way. We cannot expect everything to happen at the speed of a short video. Real life has its own pace, and learning to accept that pace is an important part of growing up.
The next time we pick up our phone to watch one more reel, perhaps we should ask ourselves a simple question: am I watching this because I genuinely want to, or because I have forgotten how to spend a few minutes without it? The answer may tell us more than we expect.
Technology has made entertainment faster and information easier to access. But we should be careful not to confuse speed with progress or constant stimulation with happiness. A mind that is always occupied does not necessarily become a mind that understands more. We do not need to stop enjoying short videos. We simply need to make sure that we do not lose the ability to enjoy the longer things in life.
Because a good movie still deserves our attention, a good book still deserves our time, and the people sitting beside us deserve more than a distracted glance.
Perhaps the real challenge of this generation is not learning how to scroll faster, but learning how to slow down again.

Email:------------------------------- junaidmwani110@gmail.com