The medium has become the message. McLuhan would have a field day. Perhaps the most revolutionary change is the collapse of the wall between creator and consumer. The "passive viewer" is extinct.
"It’s control," says Marcus Lee, a 22-year-old Twitch streamer who plays these "cozy games" for an audience of 15,000. "The world outside is chaotic. My chat is chaotic. But in the game, I decide when the sun sets. I decide if the cow gets milked. It’s the only place where the to-do list is actually fun." While movies get longer (three-hour biopics are now the norm) and album tracks get shorter (songs are shrinking to maximize streaming royalties), the tectonic plate of culture has shifted to the 60-second video. SexMex.24.07.11.Violet.Rosse.First.Scene.XXX.10...
Netflix experimented with Bandersnatch (a choose-your-own-adventure film). Spotify is testing AI DJs that speak to you by name and explain why they picked a song for "your rainy Tuesday mood." The medium has become the message
Welcome to the Paradox of the Stream. Gone are the days of "appointment viewing"—when the family gathered on Thursday night for Cheers or The Cosby Show . In its place is the algorithm: a silent, invisible librarian that has read every book you have ever liked and is already handing you the next one before you finish the current page. The "passive viewer" is extinct