Continuing with my research about “The Burnout Society” by Byung-Chul Han, one of the things that strike me is how nowadays we seem to over-value the importance of consistency, especially for content creators. Not only that we think having posts/videos/podcast episodes consistently is the key, but even the algorithm behind these social platforms (Youtube, Facebook, Substack, etc.) also recommend more of those who have consistent products.
Of course, you can say that this is great, because after each piece, we’re gonna have a sense of completion, which gives us a feeling of satisfaction inside; while people’s feedback are, no doubt, absolutely crucial for our development as well.
However, by running with a schedule, there are a couple of important issues that we seem to neglect.
- First, it often reduces the quality of our product. Without a considerable amount of time spending in deep contemplation (which is also different for different ideas), our products (a writing post, a podcast episode, etc.) are often just an interpretation of the information we perceive.
A very good example of this that I’ve recently recognize is the quality of my favourite podast, “Philosophize this”. Since the day Stephen started to follow a ritual of uploading a new episode every Monday, the quality of each of them has markedly deteriorated. Yes, he’s still great at summarizing and presenting philosophical ideas, but now each episode seems to contain very little of his own criticism and the connection to the current situation.
- Second, by consistently producing and uploading new stuff online, we’re actually contributing to the issue of information overload nowadays. As Han wrote:
Excessive positivity also expresses itself as an excess of stimuli, information, and impulses. It radically changes the structure and economy of attention. Perception becomes fragmented and scattered.
And with that scattered attention, there’s not much hope for the ability to deeply contemplate things, which, again, deteriorates the quality of our next posts/episodes.
Another vicious circle, I guess.
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Yes, I’m fully aware that we’re in FWW competition, with its strong emphasis on consistency. However, I think Han would be happy with it, as long as we keep in mind the potentially detrimental effect of consistency, especially in this era of information overload.
As an enigmatic philosopher, Han has been relying on gardening and playing the piano - activities that help him slow down and protect his ability to contemplate each idea thoroughly. It results in the indisputably high quality of his books – a great example of original independent thinking, which, I believe, we should all aim for.
