Creators and Consumers

Carol Marine's Pam Reading

I am a hypocrite. 

Not the kind of hypocrite whose hypocrisy is adverse and harmful to everyone around them, and not the kind of hypocrite who is forcing their beliefs onto others, but a hypocrite nonetheless. I should hope it has not seeped into my writing yet, but I know hypocrisy exists firmly at least in the parameters of my mind. 

The issue is this. I loathe the attention-span economy we live in. I loathe short-form content. I loathe AI and am starting to loathe modern technology as a whole. Yet not only do I participate in the ever-increasing addiction and ever-shortening attention span of our culture, but I also create and reinforce it. On the very page from which I promote this blog and my writing, I create short-form content such as reels and post them almost every other day. 

I try to distinguish myself from influencers or content creators. "My content is promoting a product (writing). Theirs is the product itself." "Mine sometimes includes excerpts of text. That's not really short-form, is it?" "I don't even spend that much time on promotional material. I just film a couple of clips every week." "At least I'm trying to get people off social media. My end goal is for them to click my link." I try to separate myself from people who are doing the exact same thing as me, primarily through the argument that at least my content leads to a greater product: the writing on this blog. 

But that argument doesn't exactly work. Because at the end of the day. . . isn't writing just more content? Yes, it's longer. Yes, I should hope it has more nuance and intellect behind it. When you really water it down to the bare bones, however, my writing is just another piece of media that people consume. 

Either I'm a hypocrite, creating the very thing I condemn, or there is something that differentiates my work, my art, from everyone else's. 

Why is my digital camera different than my phone? Why is a CD player different than Spotify? Why is doom-scrolling different than a Netflix episode? Why is YouTube different than TikTok? Why is my writing distinct in the vast sea of content, or is it all one blur of consumerist, attention-deadening, garbage? I've been condemning creators while simultaneously praising the merit of creating in a world of consuming. So where is the line? What is the real problem? 

1. The Problem

Consuming is bad, at least to a certain extent. Having a screen time that surpasses eight hours is atrocious. Having a screen time that surpasses two hours should be mildly concerning (that's four years of your life on a phone). Except that sometimes the content we're consuming is "good." Sometimes it's educational, like how putting on Sesame Street for our kids feels different than putting on Skibidi Toilet. Or how watching a video essay on YouTube feels different than watching an unboxing video. Or how Duolingo feels different than Subway Surfers. 

I just took a break from writing to eat a leftover piece of Domino's cheese pizza for breakfast. And my first thought was that while this was most definitely not a healthy choice, I don't really care. Certain foods are objectively "junk food" and bad for us, and in certain situations, I'm willing to sacrifice my health for convenience. I would argue that content works much the same way. 

"Whenever you come near the human race there's layers and layers of nonsense." - Thornton Wilder's Our Town

Just as there are junk foods and slightly less junky foods, there are pieces of content that I would label "junk content." Easily, we can put brain-rot in this category. Things like the previously mentioned Skibidi Toilet, Tung Tung Tung Sahur, and 67 are easily classified as junk content (though I admit I have willingly participated in six-seven's spread). These pieces of media, while perhaps amusing for about ten seconds, have no depth to them, are intended to be jokes, but are only funny in that they lack meaning, and encourage people to neglect critical thinking in favor of mindless garbage. Is a lack of intellect, therefore, all that distinguishes junk content from the wider world of media? 

I would argue not. I would suggest that, within this category, and also practically the cousin of brainrot, is AI-generated slop. Obviously, this is getting harder to detect, as AI-generated content begins to look more like reality, but picture the videos of crying cats singing, Trump as a baby, or fruit Love Island. This is objectively slop. It is legitimately just garbage, once again, without any kind of brain whatsoever. It is produced solely to capture people's attention and maybe make a buck or two, without any meaningful contribution to the world as a whole or even the internet. 

"The only thing you've got in this world is what you can sell." - Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

Really, I think any piece of content or media whose end goal is to make money, be it ten dollars or thousands, falls into this category of junk content. When the end goal of a piece of media is simply to be profitable, that piece of media stops being important. The most immediate reason for a piece of content to exist is to communicate something. When money is the end goal, content says nothing. It is simply a pseudo-message that is actually nothing more than an advertisement. 

Think of recent box office hits. Disney films such as The Mandalorian and Grogu, which seem to seek nothing more than a quick buck from a hopefully still-existing fanbase, are failing miserably. Meanwhile, films like Obsession and Backrooms, developed by twenty-something creatives who simply wanted to tell a story, are succeeding far past what anyone could've anticipated.

This is why I am so hesitant to introduce advertisements to my platform. It would be nice to make money, sure, but the fact that I am willing to do this without making money means that my content has no ulterior motive. My writing exists because I have something to say, not because I want to have spending money in college. 

"I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

This ability to communicate is what distinguishes junk content from the wider world of media. Junk content says nothing, and takes everything, from attention to your data to your time to your wallet. "Good" content speaks to you, informs you, educates you, humors you, sometimes humiliates you, and has a greater purpose than simply stealing. I'm not saying that all funny content is trash. I watch plenty of YouTube videos simply for a laugh. I am saying that content created for the wrong reasons becomes content that contributes nothing. It takes, but does not give in return. This is junk content. 

2. The Solution

To be clear, I think people should create. I think everyone has some talent to create something of virtue that does not harm people and does not take, and says or gives something of importance to the world. I think everybody has the ability to leave a legacy behind, and that legacy should not be an AI-generated video of Trump as a baby talking to a Boxer. Everybody has a talent, be it writing, painting, drawing, dancing, singing, building, coding, teaching, talking, or otherwise. Everybody has the capability to use that talent for good or for evil (not that 67 is totally evil). 

Another point to be clear on: I don't think it is wrong for people to make money. We live in a capitalist society, and I think that making money is a good thing if you are doing it through good means and using it for a good purpose. There is nothing inherently evil about money. I simply don't think it should be the sole motivator for your creation. 

So what are we to do? For one, consume less. The less manmade media we consume, the more God-made reality we consume. There is a major benefit to existing more in the world around you than you do in the library, both physical and digital. The most raw forms of inspiration come not from consuming existing media, but from real interactions with the people and world around you. The most raw form of life is not a life consumed through the eyes of another, but a life lived personally. Consume less content and more reality. 

"People go to the movies instead of moving." - Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie

That doesn't mean to consume no content at all. We should support other people's work. We should visit museums and use apps that are created for a good purpose. We should donate to artists and charities. We should read articles and watch videos. However, whatever we consume must be consumed wisely. We must make conscious choices about whether the things we are putting into our bodies and brains are actually good for us. Sometimes, just like I make the choice to eat junk food, we can make the choice to consume junk content. Most of the time, however, just as we should be mindful of what we are eating, we should also be mindful of what we are reading, watching, and otherwise consuming. We should intentionally choose content that practices nuance, that informs us about matters we are passionate about, and that wants something for us, rather than from us. 

"No artist can successfully escape the age in which he lives -- at best, he can reject it." - François Mathey's The Impressionists

Lastly, we should not just be consumers, but creators. Again, each of us has ability. We also have a responsibility to give back. Make informed and respectful responses to things you disagree with. Dig deeper into your passions and share what you find. Explain your work, even if it seems dull or uninteresting. Sharing your life, if done with the right intention, is one of the most genuine, meaningful contributions we can make to society.