Scroll, scroll… scroll is the motion of our thumbs when browsing on our phones and with an so many platforms to choose from there seems to be this endless supply of content. Is all the content we got online worthy of our time? That’s another question for another day perhaps but my only qualm is with so much information is how does one sieve through the real from the fake, or in this case the gold from the garbage?
Supply and Demand
For several days now, I’ve been thinking about social media, you know the, facebooks, twitters and now tiktoks of the world. I own instagram but it’s mainly used for promoting my work and raising awareness of issues which I feel need solving. And yes, the occasional travel photos here and there. Twitter serves as a newspaper for me, so each morning I glance through to check the latest stories or non-stories.
There is no shortage of content online for all of them and especially for the newest kid on the block tiktok. For those who don’t know what tik-tok is, it’s a video platform where people post brief clips with viral music videos and voice overs. Here’s probably one of the most famous tik-tok stars/ influencers. His content is pretty darn good I must say.
Social media companies gain money by keeping us engaged on their platform. The longer we stay, the more they can provide adverts and collect data. In order to keep us hooked onto their various platforms, they spend big bucks on behavioral psychology tricks and designs to keep us coming back for more in a sort of drug-like addiction.
This puts pressure on content creators to constantly push out new material in a hidden battle with algorithms. These algorithms can boost or simply hide your content from users if you don’t post enough “good content”.
The word “good content” in this context means any content that keeps you engaging on their platform for longer, regardless of what it is.
The tug of war
Two weeks ago, I stumbled across a video of a popular fitness instructor who pointed out that a lot other pages just repost false information. One popular influencer posts a wrong exercise, then the next thing everyone else is mimicking the workout.
Most content is either fantastic or useless
Does our constant demand have any role to play? I think so. Good quality content takes time to produce. You’ll need to first do research on the topic or idea, captivate viewers by telling a story, all while being honest and creative.
Trash on the other hand can be made in seconds. It hardly lacks any substantial thinking power and the barrier for entry is low. Simply whip out a phone, press record and, well… talk rubbish.
It lacks creativity, requires no research time or planning and the most worrying part, it doesn’t even have to be true, it only needs to sound true.
Duck, duck, goose
One way I immediately spot if content is useful is by looking at the person’s previous content. Do they have a niche topic? What sort of claims do they make in their posts? Do they mention any references or places to know more about the content you’re consuming? These questions help me drill down on how credible this content is.
Here is a list of problem areas I have with social media as a whole;
► The verification process is nonsense.
► A large following doesn’t mean approval. Likewise, a lack of audiences falsely equates to disapproval.
► Censorship and shadow banning — Good Lord, I could go on about this for hours. Or instead you can read my article I wrote specifically about how we are in age of mass censorship. At least regarding content, platforms cannot remove misinformation or worst fact check content, they have no qualifications to fact check (like Dr Robert. Malone who was recently censored across various platforms)
Reflection area: As long as the barrier for entry to post content is zero, perhaps we might always be flooded with sub par content. Then again, if “we” (as a society, and platforms themselves) promote great quality content and not really engage with garbage content, then maybe things can change.
Although I must admit, I’m slightly hesitant in handing platforms further power of telling you and me what is gold from the garbage. Because as far as they are concerned, gold or garbage can both be exchanged for dollars.
