Problem
At present, there is an arms race.
Who can gather the most audience… and retain said audience.
This never-ending battle is already causing consternation amongst the most visible of YouTubers who have engaged in “audience soaking” with their content in order to beat the YouTube algorithm that they believed was programmed to give up on them the instant they stopped posting.
By this I mean, there is so much content uploaded every second, it is hard to maintain a semblance of dominance in any field and continue to hold the mantle… The burnout is real and the threat of YouTube skewering their algorithm to another channel the instant you give yourself a break is real for many.
It’s the YouTube, TikTok, Instagram marathon that is sucking the life out of all participants. The desire to continuously forgo one's own enjoyment of any situation in order to satisfy the self-prescribed insatiable appetite of an audience you feel you need to feed consistently.
You don’t.
Solution
Enlightenment is the key.
Enjoying the moment for oneself – only – is a far more productive endeavor.
In order to be able to remove an impulse to notify others of your personal business/experience, you need to address the following tiers before attempting to engage.
1) Will people remember this post long after my passing?
2) Will I interrupt this experience to see whether or not people are engaging with my post?
If the answer is no to the first and yes to the second, put the phone down and live.
This dilemma is obviously a recent one.
Such complexities didn’t exist until the introduction of smartphones into our every day physical vernacular.
So if someone wanted to develop an application that prompted people to consider what the use of these social media applications would mean to their character — say, by putting up a discretionary notification before each and every post; I’d dare say a service like this would go a long way for some who find the resistance challenging.
In the legal profession, upon graduation, you are assessed as to whether or not you are a fit and proper person before you are granted a practicing certificate.
Some may find this the hardest test to pass as their character assessment could potentially be in the negative due to previous online decorum.
Once again, a service like this addressing the situation at the root would more often than not help rather than hinder…
Or you could just remember and not post anything.
This story is part of an idea creation series inspired by Ted Hope. The purpose of this series is to promote discourse amongst entrepreneurs, artists and indeed anyone for the betterment of the community at large. You are free to use these ideas as you please.
