<![CDATA[This study examines how the infinite scroll architecture and the attention economy shape Generation Z's reading practices within the ephemeral content ecosystem, and their impact on the quality of meaning. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), non-participatory observation, and content analysis (n = 28). Thematic analysis revealed five key findings. (1) Information overload and the illusion of recency encourage an orientation toward speed/currentness rather than completeness of understanding. (2) Skimming serves as a survival strategy—efficient for initial selection—but triggers a compression of meaning, a reliance on surface signals (visual aesthetics, likes, popular comments), and “ghost knowledge.” (3) Deep reading rituals are still missed; participants construct focused spaces (airplane mode, “silent hours,” print media, blocking notifications), despite emotional ambivalence and FOMO. (4) Visual validation and the “emoji economy” shift the modalities of meaning: reading is reduced to rapid decoding of visual cues (color, tempo, music, emoji/memes), risking narrowing nuances to pros/cons and replacing evidence with punchlines. (5) Hybrid literacies emerge as adaptations: meaningful bookmarking/read-later, short-to-long transitions (transcripts, articles, podcasts), and “thread unroll,” signaling the metacognitive capacity to choose when to go fast and when to go slow. Implications: (i) “short-to-long synthesis” pedagogy, slow reading sessions, reading mode audits, and process assessments; (ii) platform design with “expand context,” open transcripts/references, anti-auto-scroll focus modes, and verification prompts; (iii) structuring the rhythm of long reading through policy/community. In conclusion, the main challenge is not to reject speed, but to organize it through hybrid literacies so that the sense of knowing is anchored as a complete understanding.]]>
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