How Production Killed The Perfection
The perpetual chase for the new, hot, and popular is symptomatic of a disease created by technological advances. The general advancement of technology and the constant modernization of our world have resulted in an abundance of things: new cars, new TV shows, new articles being pumped out every second, new videos, new clothes, and new everything around us, all produced at lightning speeds to satisfy our doom-scrolling personalities.
I remember the ritualistic excitement of waiting, waiting for a new episode of my favorite show to premiere on Monday night, waiting in line to purchase a 10-song CD from my favorite artist, waiting for a new toy release, waiting for the 10 o'clock news, waiting to meet my friends to go do something... There was waiting, a moment of pause, delayed satisfaction, and gratification. It felt absolutely great!
Don't get me wrong, I wholeheartedly embrace our advances and developments. Today, we can do things that merely 30 years ago would have seemed like ripped-out pages from Isaac Asimov's novel. It's unfathomable! However, there is a price to pay for it, and it's a pretty hefty one.
To satisfy our cravings for binge-watching behavior, streaming companies are forced to pump out subpar content. We no longer find waiting acceptable; we want to watch everything at once, right now. Do you know why you constantly see remakes of movies from the '80s and '90s? It's because those stories were bonkers. We had the luxury of time to pause and wait, which resulted in producing better quality content. Nowadays, we can't afford such a luxury. Instead of taking the time to produce something amazing, we rely on recycled content that has stood the test of time.
Our super intimate relationship with our devices and toxic dependencies requires constant production of content to feed our endless scroll. Videos, articles, news, memes, gifs... all these things are mass-produced with very little time in between for thinking, breathing, and contemplating the ramifications of our actions.
When CNN started, their rise to fame was a revolutionary concept: being the first network to broadcast news around the clock. It seemed like a bat-shit crazy idea... Who in their right mind would watch news 24/7? What is there even to report? I think their biggest story that landed them on top was some kid stuck in a well, and they were on the scene reporting it... But now, our behavior dictates the need for new and exciting content with every refresh and press of a button.
The ability to delegate production to offshore continents and countries allows for cheaper production. Your clothes, your tech, your everything is built on a fraction of a dime, shipped for profit, and is never meant to last. My grandparents had the same car, the same furniture, the same TV, and the same outfits for ALL of my life knowing them... Sure, partially because we were broke, but predominantly because things were built to last. There was no luxury of lowering costs; there was no rush to satisfy on-demand culture. People simply waited. Those pauses were what allowed for a better quality of things.
Even in our own shop, running a design agency, it is incredibly expensive to just pause, breathe, and ask ourselves... Just because we can, should we? Our clients expect us to churn out results weekly, our audience expects to hear and see from us every week. Every post is anticipated, and if we miss some days, the algorithm gods do not take kindly to that type of disobedience.
Choosing not to succumb to these on-demand monsters, refusing to obey the algorithm gods, and refusing to settle for mediocrity often requires the ability to say NO! That is the scariest part of it all.
No, pause, wait, exhale, and produce greatness, bringing back the excitement.
