Are you content?

There is no shortage of quirks in regard to the English language. Among the many fascinating details we have to manage while we do our best to communicate, there’s a term called heteronyms. That’s what happens when you have two words written exactly the same way but not only does the pronunciation vary, so does their meaning.

 

When you read the title of this post, do you read content as in “a state of peaceful happiness or satisfaction” or do you read “the material discussed within a book, speech, or stuff we share on social media”? It’s easy to confuse the two, especially in these times since so often the production of one should lead to the production of the other.

 

So often, people seem to post content instead of enjoying the experience. Some insist they’re capturing memories, though too often it feels as if there's an ulterior motive, as if it's performative to a large degree. It’s not to share, for sharing’s sake. It’s because you want your experiences to resonate, to inspire, or even to compete and win against those of others.

 

Social media is an odd beast in so many ways, but among its most dangerous aspects is how deep it seeps into our reality and behavior. Even if you don’t post, the odds are still heavily in favor that you consume content, scroll, like, share, and comment until you’re kind of content.

 

I’ve shared thousands of posts on social media. Pictures, screenshots, memes, videos, songs, text, poems, silly pictures, jokes, and the occasional scream into the void. I try to be mindful, but FOMO (fear of missing out) can be very real, even if what causes that sentiment is probably manufactured.

 

So often, people share things and you can feel the underlying competitive aspect of what they share as if saying things like:

• My selfie has more likes than yours.
• My video from my trip has more views than yours.

But sometimes this behavior backfires, because the person doesn't get the response they want. No likes or loves. No comments. No shares. Nothing. The algorithm swallows the chance at a shot of dopamine that comes in the shape of validation. Or maybe people honestly don’t care what you do, share, or have to say…which clearly shows the risk you run by putting your joy in the hands of other people.

 

Content by itself doesn’t make us content…maybe it can be the means to get there from time to time, because like it or not, many people often hunger for that reaction and to feel relevant. But what you share by itself is actually pretty harmless. This changes when you tie social media to your passion or means of income. In short, the risk further escalates. Creators question the worth of their output, whether music, writing, art, or anything. They sometimes stop listening to the voice that is telling them what they should create. They forget how to play in the sandbox of their soul. All of this in favor of switching things up to get results.

 

And results come from content…even if it doesn’t leave you feeling content. The Internet is flooded by how-to’s, step-by-steps, guides to success, and professionals who focus on the generation of material to get the results you need. By the way, a word to the wise: careful with whom you trust your time, energy, and money, because some people are just interested in their bank accounts and agendas.

 

A brief scan of social media and you’ll see people who have their style down to a science…and too often it feels as if people lean on formulas to feed the algorithm instead of feeding their souls and doing what brings them joy and fulfillment. They need to “win” either by increasing their sales, their engagement, or their views, even if it costs them their enjoyment.

 

Then there are those who say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…which isn’t the whole quote, but let's start there and go over a possible scenario which could be something like this: someone sees a page that has a lot of views, they see what the other person is doing, then they either do their version of it, or basically do a carbon copy of what other people do…just to get results. It reminds me of bands that aren’t paying tribute to other bands, but basically ripping them off if only to get a quick way to gain success. By the way, the full quote from the line that starts this paragraph comes from Oscar Wilde and goes thusly: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness. And alas, some people are too happy to engage in mediocrity if it gives them the results and validation they crave.

 

However, it’s not just mediocrity, some people also adopt personas that are engaging to others and that people respond to, even if they’re a far cry from how the person is in real life or even if they wear a smile even if inside they feel horrible. This happens all the time on social media and with famous people who could be sponsored by their preferred brand of artificial sweetener.

 

But what happens when you’re not famous? What happens when you don’t get the likes and engagement you want? There’s a real risk with your emotional state and general mental health.

 

I am old enough to remember doing stuff with friends or by myself just for the fun of it and to a great extent it felt as if we were consistently doing our best to create memories or dare I say, just having fun. If there was an algorithm it was internal and although the fear of missing out was still there, there was no fear of missing out on sharing every bit of what we experienced to demonstrate that our lives were awesome.

 

SEO has geared people to do all sorts of things thinking about their perceived audience. Alas, too often we forget that we are more than content and we should strive to feel more than just content.

 

Peace, love, and maki rolls.