Digital Diet
Recently I have come across the idea of our digital diets, which are the various types of entertainment and content we are consuming. We are in an age of constant consumption of content. The content is consumed quickly, going straight from one thing to the next. Scrolling past anything that doesn’t catch our eye in a nano-second, but how often do we stop and think about what it is that we are watching and listening to?
Most of this content is made at a quick pace in order to keep up with the demand of never wanting to be bored. By making quick content, things usually aren’t as thought out, they are rushed. Created to cater more to algorithms and less to cater to the needs of people.
Since I have begun thinking about this, I have been more thoughtful of the type of content I consume. While I do still scroll social media, I make an effort to break that up with other kinds of content. Content that has been worked on for more than a couple of hours before being posted. While the time it takes to create doesn’t alone mean that something is better, it does mean more thought has gone into it. The creator had to consider if the time they were committing was worth the final product, and most people don’t like wasting time on things they don’t believe in.
The more I considered what it is I am consuming, the more I started to think about myself as a creator. I don’t want to make fast content, I want to make something that lingers in people's minds. I love it when I watch a good movie or read a good book, and it stays with me. That is what I want people to feel after seeing my work. I want it to linger on their minds even if they have long since scrolled past.
Most importantly, I want to respect my audience's time that they take to engage in my work.
This means putting more thought into what I am creating. Taking the time to think, if this will connect with someone, or make them want to share it with someone else. I create comics, which is a fast-consumption medium, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be impactful.
Beyond just making comics, I want to create longer forms of art. Like these blog posts, and a few other projects that are in the works. These things will take more time. They will also require me to keep improving as an artist, but I am hoping that in the end what I make will be more impactful, and create a deeper connection with anyone who comes across my work.
This is a journey I am taking, and I encourage you, to do the same. Consider what and to whom, you give your attention. If you are a creator, respect the time people are giving to your work, and make it mean something. We are flooded right now with mediocre content, and the world can always use more art of substance.