How Digital Behaviors Can Shape Professional Communication
- Priscila Z Vendramini Mezzena
- 7 days ago
- 5 min read
Introduction
The spark for this reflection came from a simple Reels video.
A woman appeared, holding a cute puppy, and said with profound sorrow that she would have to make a donation because her husband hadn't adjusted to the dog. The video looked catchy, and soon the comments section exploded with criticism, judging her attitude.Only those who watched until the end discovered the twist: she was actually joking — the "donation" she referred to was not the dog, but her husband.
What caught my attention wasn't the humor, but the reaction. Many people had judged her — clearly demonstrating that they had commented without watching the video until the end — a perfect mirror of how we increasingly consume and respond to content online.
With massive digital content consumption and an accelerated pace of life, we have become skimmers and scanners — navigating an ocean of information with fragmented attention, short concentration spans, and the habit of scrolling through content without truly engaging with it.
This reflection goes beyond personal behavior. It is also about how these patterns resonate in our professional lives. Understanding how attention works and how communication is perceived has become essential for leaders and professionals in every field.
Even though we're expected to adopt a more mindful approach when engaging with professional content, the same digital habits — reinforced by social media dynamics — often lead us to consume superficially, form judgments prematurely, and share or respond impulsively, without verifying facts or finishing the message.
After all, how can we expect to be understood if few people are genuinely focused on reading or listening to the full message?
Content Engagement Behaviors and Professional Impacts
How We Consume Content
In today's digital era, capturing attention has become increasingly challenging. With millions of posts, clips, and messages competing for our focus every second, attention has become the most valuable — and scarce — resource.
Research on digital behavior confirms that we read — and watch — far less than we imagine. Our brains are wired for scanning rather than deep reading [1].
This pattern reflects the success of platforms like TikTok, which popularized short-form videos designed for rapid consumption and instant engagement. Over time, even these platforms have started promoting longer formats, seeking to sustain engagement (and, of course, monetization) in audiences accustomed to instant gratification [2].
Studies show:
Most users read only 20–28% of the words on a webpage — they skim rather than read in depth [1].
Few reach the end: analytics from Slate and Chartbeat revealed that most readers stop around 50–60% of an article, getting only the "gist," not the whole story [3].
The TL;DR ("too long; didn't read") mindset illustrates how information overload and fast-paced consumption have reshaped how we process knowledge [4].
Possible impacts in the work environment:
Misinterpretation of emails, reports, and project updates due to partial reading.
Important context or nuance missed in decision-making.
Pressure on communicators to oversimplify messages, risking strategic depth.
How We Process and Judge Content
In the same way we consume quickly, we also judge quickly.
Research in social psychology shows that people form lasting impressions from very brief observations — a process known as thin-slicing [5]. In digital interactions, this means we often react or judge before the full story unfolds.
The influence of comments is also critical. According to Boot et al. (2021, Nature Humanities & Social Sciences Communications), merely seeing positive or negative comments can bias how readers interpret the same content. Comments act like "lenses," shaping perception before engagement [6].
Possible impacts in the work environment:
Premature conclusions about colleagues' intentions or tone (especially in written communication).
Escalation of misunderstandings due to emotional or partial interpretation.
Leadership decisions influenced by incomplete or biased information.
Judgment influenced by others' comments or impulsive replies — such as in long email chains.
How We Share
Finally, we observe that people often spread information that hasn't been fully processed — a key reason why misinformation thrives. In an era where fake and manipulated news circulates rapidly, many skip checking reliable sources before sharing.
A study by Gabielkov et al. (ACM, 2016) found that 59% of links shared on Twitter were never opened by the sharer. [7].
Sharing often becomes an act of showing identity, affiliation, or emotion, rather than verifying accuracy.
Possible impacts in the work environment:
The viral spread of unverified or outdated information within teams leads to miscommunication, conflict, and incorrect decisions.
Distortion of context when messages are replied to or forwarded without careful reading.
Reputational risks for organizations and individuals.
Reflections for Leaders and Communicators
This glimpse into statistics and behavior shows how people consume and judge instantly — and share impulsively — creating a perfect storm for noise in communication channels that easily leads to misunderstanding and conflict.
As leaders, we must communicate with intention and strategy — considering who we speak to, how we capture attention, which formats we use, and how clearly we convey meaning.
1. Know Your Audience
Understand who you are addressing — their context, preferences, and expectations. Tailor the message to their reality rather than relying on one-size-fits-all communication.
2. Respect Attention Patterns
Attention is limited. Structure messages with clear headings, short paragraphs, bullet points, and key highlights (such as bold fonts). Capture interest early, but don't trade substance for speed or virality.
3. Choose the Right Format
Select the most effective channel — text, video, presentation, or conversation — based on purpose and audience. Keep information concise. Avoid unnecessarily long messages (especially emails). Use visuals — images or charts — to enhance understanding and retention.
4. Be Aware of Communication Frequency
Reinforcing messages and requesting feedback can be positive strategies, but overcommunication may have the opposite effect. Avoid redundancy and limit the number of people copied in messages or meetings to those who genuinely need to be involved.
5. Ensure Clarity and Meaning
Add context or clarifiers when tone could be misunderstood, avoiding irony or humor. Don't assume that what is evident to you is obvious to others.
Finally, as audiences and team members, we also share responsibility:
Be patient — read, watch, or listen until the end before judging or responding.
Be skeptical of instant outrage — viral emotion doesn't equal truth.
Choose curiosity over certainty.
Final Thought
In a world of constant connection and fragmented attention, communicating without intention is pivotal.
As leaders, our challenge is to ensure that messages are truly received and understood.
From the other side, before reacting, forwarding, or concluding, we should pause to read carefully, listen, and reflect.
Sometimes, the difference between clarity and confusion lies in just a few more seconds of attention.
References
[1] Nielsen Norman Group. (2008; updated 2020). How Little Do Users Read? and How People Read Online: New and Old Findings.
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[2] Shopify Blog. (2025). TikTok Video Length Advice for Your Content.
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[3] Slate. (2013). You Won't Finish This Article.
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[4] ArtsHub. (2016). Self-Help for Conquering TL; DR.
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[5] Ambady, N., & Rosenthal, R. (1992). Thin Slices of Expressive Behavior as Predictors of Interpersonal Consequences: A Meta-Analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 111(2), 256–274.
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[6] Boot, W. R., et al. (2021). Social Media Comments Bias Perceived News Credibility. Nature Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 8, 82.
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[7] Gabielkov, M., Ramachandran, A., Chaintreau, A., & Legout, A. (2016). Social Clicks: What and Who Gets Read on Twitter. Proceedings of the 25th International Conference on World Wide Web (WWW '16).
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#Communication #Leadership #DigitalTransformation #TeamCommunication #CriticalThinking #HumanBehavior #DecisionMaking #FragmentedAttention
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