We are currently drowning in abundance. In 2024 alone, over 600 scripted television series were released in the United States. Streaming services (Netflix, Disney+, Max, Prime Video, Apple TV+, Peacock, Paramount+) are fighting a zero-sum war for your eyeballs. This is the "Streaming Wars," and the collateral damage is your wallet and your sanity.
Because the barriers to entry have collapsed (anyone with a smartphone can create popular media), the market is flooded. To stand out, algorithms reward extremity. If a video doesn't get a reaction in the first three seconds, it dies. This has given rise to "hate-watching" (engaging with content specifically to ridicule it) and "doom-scrolling" (consuming endless negative news or outrage bait). slayed230509jialissaandmerrypiexxx108
Critics argue that TikTok has reduced the human attention span to that of a goldfish. While hyperbolic, the data is stark. The average shot length in movies has dropped from 12 seconds (1950) to 2.5 seconds (2023). Popular media is training us to crave novelty at the expense of depth. We are currently drowning in abundance