You will probably read this headline and go right back to cat gifs
So you've decided to stick around after all? Sorry to have been so presumptuous, but according to a new report from the American Press Institute, only four in 10 Americans say they "delved deeper into a particular news subject beyond the headlines" in the past week. In other words, a sizable majority of Americans read some headlines, decided they'd absorbed all the info they needed, and skipped past the actual stories entirely.
Still here? In that case: The finding in that study confirms what other research has shown, that Americans, confronted with more and more easily-accessible sources of information than ever, aren't following the news as closely as they used to. And according to the web analytics company Chartbeat, the average reader spends less than 15 seconds on a given story before moving on.
Sheesh, you're still on this page? Well then, congrats and thank you, I suppose. As a reward, please enjoy this cat gif. --Jon Terbush
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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
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