I used to hold the consumptive mindset when I was younger and unaware. I liked the things I liked without knowing why I liked them. I imagine most children think this way and a great many of them grow into adults without changing this mindset.

I absolutely understand why. The things that bring a person joy are fixed in their minds as conduits of pleasure. They don’t want to question what they consume because not only does it force them to examine what goes into creating the products of these brands (low overseas wages, poor working conditions, etc) but they have to examine their own feelings and memories. It’s kinda hard to find the right words, but there is a discomfort that arises when cognizant of the greater context in which these things exist. I believe the phrase is “problematic fav.”

That doesn’t mean we have to stop liking the things we like just because they’re not perfectly free of problems. If that were the case, no one could ever like anything ever. I do think it is still quite valuable to confront the issues anyway. Doing that myself, I’ve found new appreciation for the things I like, flaws and all. I think it shows that humans make human things that have human flaws just as much as the humans themselves do. And when looking at a long-term trajectory over the course of decades and centuries, I think the media we consume is on a positive trajectory, even if individual works on their own may step backwards.

I raise the question, “how can this mindset be instilled in more people?” I answer with my own experience:

Make your own stuff

In the past few years, I’ve been making my own stuff. Writing, drawing, building, etcetera, etcetera. The process of doing so has opened my mind up. It’s forced me to examine how the stories other people tell are made. I’ve learned to see the patterns, to question my assumptions.

The act of creation is powerful. Disney itself is evidence of that. I think more people ought to make their own stuff. I also think that the modern world makes this both easier and more difficult. On the easier side, more people have access to education and tools to perform the act of creation. On the harder side, they lack the time and energy to do so.

I think companies like Disney contribute to the harder side, though I would call it an inadvertent side effect. I wouldn’t say that they did it on purpose, but when there’s more stuff to consume there’s less time to make. Still 24 hours in a day. Creating requires an investment. Consuming also requires an investment, but of a different nature. To binge watch a TV show on Netflix, you have to make the conscious decision to devote hours to it. Or, I guess, sometimes the decision is unconscious. It’s an investment of time, but of input. To create is an investment of output, which is absolutely a conscious decision.

I suppose here I show my bias. I find it a more valuable experience to put time into creation over time into consumption. At the end of consumption you have a lot more information in your head. You’ve gained an experience. But you haven’t given to the world. You’ve taken from it.

Since I’ve been spending so much time telling my own stories instead of consuming others, I’ve felt both fulfilled and isolated. The fulfillment comes from being able to say “I made a thing. I’ve added to the world.” The isolation comes from the reduction in shared cultural experiences.

I’d wager it’s true that there is a lot of cultural identity attached to the media that people consume. And that’s where branding plays a large role. People take on identities based on the media they consume. Trekkies (Star Trek), Whovians (Dr. Who), etcetera. To be perfectly honest I think there is too much identity attached to consumption. It feels uncomfortable when I see how much of some individuals’ identities are defined by the media they consume. And, quite frankly, it makes me feel lonely. I consume much less these days as I’ve made the choice to make my own stuff instead. As a result, I have fewer cultural touchstones to connect with other people over. I’m not consuming the media, so when a discussion arises about a TV show, say Game of Thrones, I have nothing to contribute. I haven’t seen it. And I can’t help but feel a bit selfish when I try to talk about the things I am making. Hence isolation. Perhaps this is not so culturally connect to the modern day as there are centuries of information on how writers are loners locked away from the world.

It’s not as though I want people to stop consuming. There are great messages embedded in even the most corporate of stories. They are still created by humans, after all. I guess I have a bit of hope that more people might consider making stuff sometimes too.

This ended up longer, rougher, and more openly honest than I had originally intended, but what’re you gonna do, eh? :p