CONTENT OVERFLOW OR OVER-SATURATION?

I've been thinking a lot about how our culture consistently pushes out content and entertainment through various media channels. This is not an overall bad thing for us as consumers, given there are virtually anything and everything under the sun, but what does that mean for us creators? If there's a niche or space that is lacking something we can just go "make it." It gives us platforms and areas to put our work out there to the audiences that want it, but the fact is that we have to somehow make ourselves stand out amongst the virtual mass of other voices doing the same. This is the drawback of this virtual explosion of content on the internet and other platforms, there is just too much of it and for most creators, who cannot spend the time for a promotion or other avenues of exposure, they become lost in the shuffle.

In some ways, this new overflow/oversaturation is both a boon and a detriment as we seek to put out stories, art, and expressions of ourselves for public consumption. We have not only made it bountiful, but in some ways, we have made it cheap, almost too easy, and mass produced. It's everywhere and whenever you turn there is a new Kickstarter for a new book, a new RPG, or a new film. Everywhere you look there is another product coming out that may or may not hedge out what you are developing for yourself. And this is not even approaching the compensation angle, which is increasingly important for creators to be able to focus on their projects.

I don't want to throw anyone into despair, because every person has a unique story to tell. They deserve to be able to tell it and hopefully tell it well, but how can you make successful avenues where everyone is heard and everyone can be appreciated? The short answer is that you cannot. There will always be people left behind for whatever reason because the public is fickle on what they like. There are always great artists, who are ignored often for years until they make something that the whims of the market pick up to exploit. Then there are others who produce not perfectly polished work, but still, seek to push it out anyway. I want to be wary of the increase in production of content because it has inevitably lowered the bar for quality. The standard of quantity has become the new standard.

Looking at such trends as fast fashion or the way the tech industry produces a new phone year after year with little variation is what should come to mind. These trends have also entered the mindset of artists and other creators and those who consume those works. Writing, for example, has been enormously devalued overtime for the work that is spent on them. People complain about the cost of carbon copy books and may even complain about the cost of e-books, despite their much-reduced price, yet the work that goes into those novels have not changed, at least not drastically. How do we save ourselves from falling into the trap of overproduction and still retain our demand for quality? Do we sacrifice this at the expense of being swallowed by the crowd or do we hold that our work can speak for itself?

This is where art comes into it for me. It is just about the only thing that differentiates what a "product" is versus a "creation" when it comes to content. There's no turning back from this content oversaturation, but we can create a "quality overflow" if we demand more from ourselves and others. It means being honest with ourselves and asking ourselves why we create in the first place. It means, not falling for the allure of market demands. Creating in most spaces is not about getting rich, at least not for the quality game, which is another reason why we have seen quantity win out instead of quality. It's not for everyone and the pressure of this massive surge of content can be a lot of creators and other artists, which is one reason we are where we are now. In some cases, we have even seen places that usually produce amazing creations have begun to be consumed by this need for market demand and exposure and they are not small entities either.

Companies, like Disney, have already started to run franchises and other IPs ragged with the pace of movies, tie-in novels, and TV shows. They keep producing these to keep the "brand" in the public eye and keep people invested in their products, which again is what we've seen online among other content creators. These industries also have to abide by what the market demands of them, such as mass appeal and high ratings, which for most of us, we luckily don't have to, though I'm sure to wish it were so. We can also see this in multiple communities that encourage you to write content for their sites like Medium, Vocal, and others. The push to produce can be overwhelming or even forceful, but as any 101 economics student will tell you, to flood the market lowers the cost for everyone.

There's no going back to correct the oversaturation. The internet has already proven that it is too pervasive and tempting to just put anything and everything out there to be consumed. What creators can do is to attempt to create the most authentic and most polished work before pushing it out for everyone to enjoy. This will hopefully encourage more creators to do the same and while it will not stop those who would rather overproduce lower quality work, it may begin to change how people view content and appreciate it more. Our entertainment should not all be cheap, mass-produced work, it should be professional, personal, and above all good enough to take pride in.

Cover photo by Raj Eiamworakul via Unsplash (https://unsplash.com/photos/Q-lzt8Uz4Eo)