Comment by muggleschoolbus on Why Have Sentence Lengths Decreased? · 2025-04-22T02:31:31.625Z · LW · GW

I think the point about the Internet enabling a "wordier style" due to lower printing costs actually gets things backwards.

What actually matters is the competition for attention. Consider that as the barrier to entry to publishing has dropped, the number of suppliers has exploded, while the number of consumers has grown much more slowly. That means there's far more supply competing for limited attention. This creates enormous selection pressure for ideas to be consumable, instantly engaging, and spreadable.

I think eloquence and beautiful language rightfully thrived in the past when scarcity gave room for richer forms, but now lose out to clarity and punch.

You can observe potentially the same trend with other media in history: theatre -> film -> TikTok.