Too much content?

Like most people last night, I watched the House of the Dragon premiere on HBO. It was fantastic and brought back a lot of great memories from the glory days of Game of Thrones. Starting in college in 2012, my friends and I would get together Sunday nights and watch Game of Thrones live. It was a Sunday ritual that lasted for about 2-3 months every year or so. It was usually one of, if not the only show I was watching at a time.

What a different time 2012 was compared to now. Fast forward 10 years and we’re in an age of never ending content. I have a list in my notes on TV shows that have been recommended to me. For better or worse, that list just continues to grow rather than shrink.

Outside of streaming, I get sent a steady list of content via Instagram or TikTok daily from my fiancee or friends. It comes at me so fast and often that I spend a good 5 minutes almost every night checking everything. And of course - football season is coming up shortly which means that my Saturdays and Sundays will be booked for the next 6 months or so.

We’re living in a unique time where there is too much entertainment right now and not enough time. I know I definitely feel a bit overwhelmed. The FOMO is real and I feel like I’m missing out if I’m not keeping up. I have no clue about the correlation between technology/content and the worsening mental health crisis. But I guess I can completely see why kids and even adults are struggling more in school and socially nowadays than 20 years ago.

These streamers and apps need viewers so content is going to continue to increase. If we don’t want a future where everyone is staring at a computer or phone screen 18 hours per day, then this problem is going to need to be solved a different way.

I would love to see a new era of tools and technology that looks to counteract this worsening content problem. An app that helps myself and my potential future kids get outside more instead of logging back in? Sign me up.