--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Now, for my younger viewers out there, a…" description: "\"Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. It’s sort of a blog for people with attention spans.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/stephen-colbert-503_attention_now-for-my-younger-viewers-out-there-a-b_115683.png" --- # Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something… ![“Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. It’s sort of a blog for people with attention spans.” quote by Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/stephen-colbert-503_attention_now-for-my-younger-viewers-out-there-a-b_115683.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/stephen-colbert-503_attention_now-for-my-younger-viewers-out-there-a-b_115683.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bed/stephen-colbert-503_attention_now-for-my-younger-viewers-out-there-a-b_115683.png) > “Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. It’s sort of a blog for people with attention spans.” [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker humorously contrasts traditional books with modern digital media, suggesting that books once served as curated, long‑form content for readers with limited attention spans, akin to early blogs. **In simple terms:** Books were like early blogs. Key Takeaway Media formats evolve with attention habits. Themes media evolution digital culture attention economy humor Mood playful wry Type satire cultural observation When to use this quote - educational curriculum design - content marketing strategy - library outreach programs Key Concepts information consumption cognitive load Practical Applications - Blend long‑form reading with interactive digital tools - Design bite‑sized content for modern audiences Questions to Reflect On - How does format shape the way we think? - What aspects of reading are lost in digital shortcuts? A Different Perspective Books still offer depth and permanence that many digital formats lack, so the comparison can be reductive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Attention span](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention-span/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [For years, particularly with the advent of the Internet, people have been griping about lessening attention spans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/for-years-particularly-with-the-advent-of-the-internet-people-have/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [Mid-grade readers don't have short attention spans, they just have low boredom tolerance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-viorst/mid-grade-readers-don-t-have-short-attention-spans-they-just-have-low/) [Judith Viorst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-viorst/) > [I think people are really desperate for conversations. I'm really fascinated by the idea that at the same time, the internet is sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-kasher/i-think-people-are-really-desperate-for-conversations-i-m-really/) [Moshe Kasher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-kasher/) > [I know everyone says attention spans are shorter now, and if you can't get them in the first 20 seconds, you lost them. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ne-yo/i-know-everyone-says-attention-spans-are-shorter-now-and-if-you-can-t/) [Ne-Yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ne-yo/) > [We're not cognitively equipped to deal with it. And it's becoming a problem, frankly. It's part of the reason why I quit Facebook. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-currie-jr/we-re-not-cognitively-equipped-to-deal-with-it-and-it-s-becoming-a/) [Ron Currie Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-currie-jr/) > [Cats would rule the world if they had longer attention spans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-d-hlavaty/cats-would-rule-the-world-if-they-had-longer-attention-spans/) [Arthur D. Hlavaty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-d-hlavaty/) > [I know there is also the influence of television and being able to zap away so it is a weightier decision to go into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-snow/i-know-there-is-also-the-influence-of-television-and-being-able-to/) [Michael Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-snow/) > [Do you know why language manifests itself the way it does in my work? 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Same thing with food and movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bob-thornton/people-s-attention-spans-are-a-little-shorter-these-days-same-thing/) [Billy Bob Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bob-thornton/) > [“Things stop being funny if you have to explain them to people, especially if they need excellent attention spans.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/things-stop-being-funny-if-you-have-to-explain-them-to-people/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [The ultimate pitch for an era of short attention spans begins with a single word - and doesn't go any further.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/the-ultimate-pitch-for-an-era-of-short-attention-spans-begins-with-a/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [Land of snap decisions, land of short attention spans, nothing is savored long enough to really understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/land-of-snap-decisions-land-of-short-attention-spans-nothing-is/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [We live in a time of short attention spans and long stories. The short attention spans are seen as inevitable, the consequence of living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-junod/we-live-in-a-time-of-short-attention-spans-and-long-stories-the-short/) [Tom Junod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-junod/) ## More by Stephen Colbert > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/cynicism-masquerades-as-wisdom-but-it-is-the-farthest-thing-from-it/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [We all deserve credit for this new surveillance state that we live in because we the people voted for the Patriot Act. Democrats and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/we-all-deserve-credit-for-this-new-surveillance-state-that-we-live-in/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I've long been against illegal aliens, partly because they distract us from an even bigger threat: real aliens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-ve-long-been-against-illegal-aliens-partly-because-they-distract-us/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Believe in me, cause I don't believe in anything, and I wanna be someone to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/believe-in-me-cause-i-don-t-believe-in-anything-and-i-wanna-be/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It's August, which means Congress is on recess and Mitch McConnell has shimmied back into the ocean to seek a mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/it-s-august-which-means-congress-is-on-recess-and-mitch-mcconnell-has/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Try to love others and serve others and hopefully find those who love and serve you in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/try-to-love-others-and-serve-others-and-hopefully-find-those-who-love/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Thirty seconds is the exact amount of time Americans can tolerate something they don't understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/thirty-seconds-is-the-exact-amount-of-time-americans-can-tolerate/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I used to make up stuff in my bio all the time, that I used to be a professional ice-skater and stuff like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-used-to-make-up-stuff-in-my-bio-all-the-time-that-i-used-to-be-a/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I live by syllogisms: God is love. Love is blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God. I don't know what I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-live-by-syllogisms-god-is-love-love-is-blind-stevie-wonder-is-blind/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Unlike Paul Newman, who seems to think that salad dressing is the cure-all for America's ills, I'm a man of action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/unlike-paul-newman-who-seems-to-think-that-salad-dressing-is-the-cure/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/jesus-forgives-sinners-not-criminals/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Used books are the sluts of the literary world. Passed around from person to person, spreading their pages for anyone, getting cheaper and cheaper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/used-books-are-the-sluts-of-the-literary-world-passed-around-from/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Divorce is a marital welfare. It's just couples asking society to bail them out because they didn't do enough research before they got married.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/divorce-is-a-marital-welfare-it-s-just-couples-asking-society-to-bail/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I welcome opposing viewpoints, but I should warn you that you'll be facing off against the 2nd-place finisher at the 1981 Charleston County High-School…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-welcome-opposing-viewpoints-but-i-should-warn-you-that-you-ll-be/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) [Explore all 514 Stephen Colbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. 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