Representing Pasts – Visioning Futures

Abstract

Average duration of moving visual entertainment products is historically decreasing as new platforms emerge, while time spent in front of screens is increasing. I hereby extend to recent visual media history an observation by media scholar Friedrich Kittler, concerning the duration decrease from outdoor theatre (5-15 hours) to indoor theatre as a combination of social demand for evening entertainment tackled by the introduction of candles for artificial lighting in 1650. Average candle expiration (2 hours) was the technical limitation that set the standard for most subsequent theatrical plays and feature films in the 20th century. By mapping similar sociotechnical configurations of social demands/contexts, technical limitations, and exceptions or parallel developments, I trace average durations of popular screen-based platform products: TV series (30 minutes-1 hour), YouTube video (5-10 minutes), Instagram video (1 minute), TikTok video (20-35 seconds). This is paired to the paradox of users spending more time on watching shorter visual works, often rejecting commitment to longer works for less time (for example, intentional or unintentional preference of 4 hours on TikTok browsing over a 2-hour film). Results invite further reflection about temporality and fragmentation in the 20th and 21st centuries, situating this process within contexts of massive increases in temporary work (fixed contracts and gig economies), decreases in average human attention span, and the screen addiction/screen fatigue paradox. This paper contributes to current attempts at bridging media studies with science and technology studies (STS), highlighting the value of such research for disciplines such as cognitive science and labour economics.