Don’t Fall For The Content Consumerism

Are you a consumer or a producer?

The title might sound like a lecture on economics or manufacturing. If I have misled you, I apologise. My intention is merely to point out the content consumerism created by the digital revolution or the technology revolution. And, as some of my previous articles, this article also highlights the fact your attention is the currency of this new revolution and you should spend it wisely.

So then, what is a consumer and a producer in this new digital setting? Simply put, if you consume more content than you give away to the world, you are a consumer. On the other hand, if you consume content intentionally to provide more valuable content to the world, then you are a producer. Content in the form of books, films, documentaries, shows, education, entertainment, games etc.

Providing such a blanket statement and letting you make the conclusions doesn’t seem fair. Let’s dive deeper.

How to spot a consumer?

As I mentioned before, a consumer is a person who consumes more content than he produces. And it is strictly in terms of value. Value in the form of knowledge, art, recreation and anything that improves the life of another person in any way. Yes, I cannot pinpoint a person and say he is a consumer. On certain days when you are particularly demotivated, you tend to consume more than you produce. In my books, that’s fine. But on average, do you consume more? Then consider yourself a consumer.

Here are some examples of a consumer:

• Tom, who loves to play video games all day long without knowing why he loves it
• Mary, who loves to scroll endlessly through her Instagram feed without knowing why is she scrolling
• Jack binging on entertainment shows or documentaries without any outcome in mind
• Peter, who loves to understand the nuances of a political decision without any plan on what to do with the information

Well, you might have spotted the overarching principle here. If you are consuming information, valuable or otherwise, without an intention, you are a consumer.

How to spot a producer?

By now, you must be pretty clear on who a producer is. If you are putting valuable information and experiences out there in the world by consuming everything intentionally, then you are a producer. The world needs producers to push the world forward. If everyone were consumers, we would still be eating raw meat in a cave. Producers are the prime movers of the world. And the exciting part is, anyone can be one of them.

Here are some examples of a producer:

• Jim, who loves to play video games all day long because he loves the fact he entertains people with his gameplay and realises this is his creative outlet. He also has a Youtube channel that inspires new players to join the community.
• Gary, who loves to scroll endlessly through his Instagram feed because he is looking out for people who need help with their gardening. He has a gardening utility shop and he genuinely wants to help people garden better.
• Mark binging on entertainment shows or information documentary because he is trying to understand the nuances of the spread of Christianity. He is a researcher who studies the spread of ideas across societies. He loves to understand the world better and impart knowledge to others.
• Derek, who loves to understand the nuances of a political decision because he helps investors with their future investment decisions.

When you consume with an intention, your life will begin to have a deeper purpose and meaning.

Why are most of us consumers?

I do not have any research papers to show most people are consumers in the 21st century. But look around you and look within your life, it is self-explanatory. But, why do we consume more? The simple answer is, everything around us is designed to be consumed.

Consuming on autopilot is the easiest thing to do. Switch on the TV, open up an OTT platform and soon you are falling down the rabbit hole. Recommendations, autoplays, auto trailer-plays, mails that talk of upcoming shows, mails that talk of “since you watched this, then watch this” — everything is meant to make you a consumer. Fear of missing out is another trick up the sleeves to ensure consumers remain consumers.

Producing is difficult. You have to spend your valuable attention on yourself to make any meaningful content. When a thousand things are waiting and fighting for your attention, what chances do you have? We cannot blame ourselves, but we can make changes in our life not to be part of this attention-seeking system.

If you are intentionally binging on any content, go ahead. But if you are on autopilot, think again. Please note, if you consume the content you can still be a producer if you contribute more valuable content to society.

Why does it matter to be a producer?

Being a consumer has far-reaching implications from a societal perspective. When the technology creates more and more consumers, will we reach a situation where there are no more producers? Highly unlikely, but the situation where a handful of producers would have to be the prime movers is highly likely. The impending doom is not far from there.

More importantly, it gives meaning to your life. When you are 65 and look back on the impact you had on society, you would be happy and accomplished. We do not call humans social animals without any reason. We are meant to help each other and be part of society. Being a consumer is not the right way to be a social animal.

We have to learn to tell the technology revolution, “You will get my attention when I decide to give my attention”. And it is not too difficult once you are intentional about your actions.

So, which one are you?

Keep learning and keep adapting!