The paradox of choice is more than just a consumer phenomenon: when offered more choices, we often fail to choose at all. This translates to flavours of jam at the supermarket, degrees in university, what sport to play, or even where to live.
Yet one exception appears to be the media. Instead of not choosing at all, we may consume everything. This rapid overstimulation – be it music, movies, or news articles – we are left feeling lost and individual cultural sources are subsequently reduced in meaning. With so many corporations fighting for viewer attention, it is difficult to narrow down what exactly is best for us to consume.
Film companies, for example, put a large amount of effort into gaining monthly subscribers. After the launch of Netflix in the early 2000s and the following of Hulu, Amazon Prime, and eventually Disney+, it seems there’s no stopping the creation of new streaming services. It is not enough to have multiple subscriptions, either; each service must also create new unique content to keep subscribers paying. Media firms are spending nearly double that of a decade ago, and streaming services compete for the best home-studio films. The more content we consume, the more profit the firms make. And yet, there will always be a limit to how much a consumer can healthily watch.
As consumers, this leaves us with an overdose of content. The same can be said for music – there are nearly 500 million subscribers to music services worldwide. Spotify provides over 82 million tracks, with new music being uploaded daily. The average user spends 18 hours a week listening to content. It is a massive part of many people’s day to day routines, particularly during ‘passive’ time such as commuting.
And the types of media consumption go on. 70% of Brits actively read or consume daily news, often in the form of further magazine subscriptions. Then, there is the near two and a half hours on social media per day which is also very common.
Collectively, this influx of different media sources has profound effects on the way people think and act. Consuming such a large amount of content reduces the importance of each individual moment: how are you supposed to fully absorb a film when you have seen so many other ones just recently? Media consumption may, therefore, quickly become passive. This is because when we over-consume media, we may find ourselves numb to each piece of its content: we listen to a song but don’t pay true attention, scroll through Instagram and failing to notice any of the individual posts, or read so many news articles that we fail to develop our own opinions.
Psychologically, having extensive media selection is linked to higher rates of negative emotions. In a study on phone notifications those with greaters amounts reported higher rates of anxiety and negative emotion regarding consuming media. Focus and latency for each individual piece of content were down as well.
Media addiction is no rarity in the 21st century. With the constant influx of new media it can be difficult to narrow down what an individual wants to consume and how much of it. The line between healthy culture consumption and growing numb to the sheer amount of media is undeniably grey. By being more conscious of what we consume, we will be form a healthier relationship with media.