#cyberslackers and doomscrollers

[iriemorning]

maybe we should read less, and watch less

it radically sucks to be a primary witness to the literacy rate dwindling in my generation of cyberslackers and doomscrollers. but the fault is not on them. technological advancements over the past decades have helped creatives and artists to produce work more efficiently, and as of late, there are still thousands of books and movies being launched every day.

but the quality is somehow almost always lacking.

marketing also plays a crucial role. if i could somehow summarize the current phenomena we live in in a single word—it’s what "ticks." dictionary refers to it as a regular short, sharp sound, especially that made by a clock or watch. first, there’s TikTok, the hotbed of trends. then there’s the personalized ‘for you’ algorithm on our social media accounts. songs are getting shorter. everything is shortened and timed and personalized. for a business to prosper, you must catch the attention of a bypasser in a single ‘tick’ or else you lose momentum in the sea of shortness.

time hasn’t changed. clocks still function the same a century ago. so where's the problem? in the endless production of pointless content that we all take for granted. there’s a lot to choose from but not everything is worthy to be consumed.

all of these stemmed from me watching a movie that left me hanging dry because there was no real resolution at the end. it bothered me so much that i began to question the writers, producers, directors, actors, staff who were behind it and let it happen. especially the executives who greenlighted the idea. time and effort and money are non-biodegradable so to waste them to produce another waste baffled me even in my sleep.

the literacy rate is down already, but maybe we should read less, and watch less.

that’ll teach them.

but it’s hard to just gang up like that when the trending hobbies these days is to binge and splurge—eating, watching, reading, shopping. the dopamine spree is limitless (or so it looks). not to toot my own horn, i also love indulging, but it’s precisely why im so annoyed about it. we are all stuck in this web of hedonism.

what drives me even crazier are those who quantify these trendy hobbies into a badge of honor. oh, a movie every day? you’ve read 150 books this year? [read: to all the self-proclaimed bibliophiles and cinephiles out there—who treat reading books and watching movies like a rat race, and belittle those not as widely exposed to the classics and canon as them] ask some of them what they learned, and they can barely make up intelligible concepts.

that’s the biggest concern: all input, no output.

there’s a lot we can learn about what we choose to consume, so to come out of the cinema and close the book without your life being changed in some way is depressing. it’s the postmodern tragedy we can save ourselves from before it’s too late.

every piece of art and media can serve as a tool and guide to life. it’s in our own volition to choose quality works over quantity, and utilize them to improve our living in some way or another.

every time we read and watch something, we must contribute and give back something equally meaningful. put it out into the world. write, compose, speak out. that’s where energy flows

not just consuming mindlessly like zombies.