My recent thinking about this in relation to creative content is this:
1. The middle has gotten much narrower. That is, because news can travel fast, and we can see what people’s opinions are, and high status people have more reach, the “average person’s aesthetic loves” are now much closer to the typical person. People who make content for a mainstream audience now have to contend with this mega-tastemaking machine, and there’s not as much space to go around because EVERYBODY is watching game of thrones and reading harry potter.
2. The tails have gotten much wider. That is, because self-publishing is easy, and searching is easy, and SOOO much content is at our fingertips, there are way more and way more varied fringe tastes than ever before, and people who make weird or out there content now have the option of making a living with 1000 true fans.
I haven’t thought about it too much, but it’s possible the internet has had the same effect on groups in general. With mainstream groups being bigger, and there being more room for niche groups. In general if we’re talking about people’s wellbeing, I suspect the first effect (of seeing how lititle status you have relative to the megastars) to overwhelm the effect of being able to find niche groups to be a part of.
My recent thinking about this in relation to creative content is this:
1. The middle has gotten much narrower. That is, because news can travel fast, and we can see what people’s opinions are, and high status people have more reach, the “average person’s aesthetic loves” are now much closer to the typical person. People who make content for a mainstream audience now have to contend with this mega-tastemaking machine, and there’s not as much space to go around because EVERYBODY is watching game of thrones and reading harry potter.
2. The tails have gotten much wider. That is, because self-publishing is easy, and searching is easy, and SOOO much content is at our fingertips, there are way more and way more varied fringe tastes than ever before, and people who make weird or out there content now have the option of making a living with 1000 true fans.
I haven’t thought about it too much, but it’s possible the internet has had the same effect on groups in general. With mainstream groups being bigger, and there being more room for niche groups. In general if we’re talking about people’s wellbeing, I suspect the first effect (of seeing how lititle status you have relative to the megastars) to overwhelm the effect of being able to find niche groups to be a part of.