It is just another day at Northwestern (NW). I am heading to class, passing by the library, and there it is: That chaotic bulletin board outside the LC. It is basically an overstimulation zone of flyers stacked on flyers, club announcements from who-knows-when and the poor old cork board groaning under the weight as if it would collapse any second now. And yet, as always, barely anyone bothers to look.
I mean, I get it, we are Generation Z. Let us be honest. Nowadays, a lot of us have the attention span of a fly. Flyers, reels, emails–nothing seems to effectively stick anymore, unless they are clickbait, absurdly unique or going viral. We are overstimulated. We skip ads, and frankly, we are skipping life too.
Take flyers, for example. When was the last time you actually stopped to look at one and scan its QR code? Physical advertisements are not entirely useless, but it is obvious that their effectiveness is fading quite fast in our generation. Back then, a simple poster taped to a wall was enough to pique curiosity, and newspapers were in everyone’s hands. Now, bulletin boards feel like background noise for our walk to our next class. Piles of our school newspaper sits untouched on the shelves around campus, collecting dust and memories of a time when students took time to grab one. These ads last longer on the wall and shelves than in our minds!
However, the problem is not just with physical advertisements and bulletin boards, it is in our phones too. How many reels have you swiped past within the first two seconds because it did not capture your attention fast enough? Announcements from clubs and departments are buried unless they are flashy. Important emails end up lost in the giant flood of promotional emails, spam and calendar reminders. You would watch AI-generated brain-rot reels for a second, which turns into a minute, which turns into an hour, and all of a sudden, you are left cramming that one Christian Story paper due at 11:59PM!
In this fast-paced world of information overload, our goldfish brains are being pulled in every direction possible. Yet, the issue is not about simply missing a flyer from the Bridge Center, an email from Campus Ministry or an Instagram post by the Student Activities Council. The underlying problem is how we have unconsciously trained ourselves to block out anything that is not viral. Therefore, we miss out on opportunities, connections and the moments that make life real outside our little mobile devices, ultimately shrinking the genuine human experience.
So, what can we do? Well, for those of us who are in charge of making flyers, social media posts or any kind of campus communication, the answer is creativity. As someone pursuing the advertising field, I have learned how increasingly difficult it is to reach our generation day by day. We are simply wasting resources if we continue to put out advertisements that obviously do not work. The only solution is to think outside the box: incorporate humor, boldness, something surprising and absurd enough to cut through the clutter. Do not be afraid to make changes on that generic Canva template. Once you are done, take a good look at it with your own eyes and think: would I personally pay attention to this?
But for everyone in general, it is time to slow down and touch grass. Do not let our brains completely get fried. The mere fact that you paid attention to this newspaper is already a big step! So, keep that intentionality going. Put your phone down for a few seconds and intentionally take a few moments to check that scary bulletin board. Notice the world outside your screen: The invitations of many campus clubs inviting you for fellowship, the people walking beside you and all the little things that cannot be captured in a 10-second video. Remember, our attention is a valuable resource, and right now, we are spending it everywhere except where it matters the most.
