When cognition meets stimulation
Podcast (cult)ure, YouTube and Spotify Wrapped stats
Recently I’ve felt weirdly overstimulated. And it’s not just my mind, but my senses themselves. This was made painfully evident to me by physical changes and discomforts in my body.
One moment I’d be looking at a device screen — whether it be scrolling Pinterest, reading an article, researching colleges, watching a YouTube video, or, of course, Instagram. Another moment I’d find myself playing some sort of music/ambient noise on my TV or laptop, almost all day. And don’t get me started on the earphones.
I don’t know about you, but my eyes and ears are open to constant noise. They also happen to be the two key organs needed to experience life. Yet I fear their impending deterioration, not only dulling my senses but also creeping into my mind — void of actual thought.
These distractions are everywhere, accessible every second of the day. While the physical effects of this overexposure can be gradually felt (though often ignored), we forget to pause our mind’s autopilot until all that remains is a trail of habits we never realized we crossed.
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Lack of original thoughts, opinions, personal style, taste, niche interests, and a curated sense of self. I feel like it’s all missing, but I don’t think it's only me. How I see it, some part of our society is still trying to step back into the pilot seat. The rest? I don’t know, maybe it’s getting worse.
What’s not helping
The rise of podcast culture needs no introduction. You’ve likely heard of it. It might be a mindless podcast while driving, ruled away as “multitasking” and “efficiency”. I get it. Most people simply don’t have enough time on their hands. But as always, there is an unknown line crossed, a limit we shouldn’t have tested, and an awareness we didn’t know was slipping away.
I’ve heard stories of people watching reels, YouTube, etc while showering, brushing, and in other absurd locations. I never thought I’d end up witnessing a middle-aged man actively scrolling reels while doing his cable lateral raises in the gym. I was bemused to say the least. Short-form content is already scary enough and seems to get worse. Long-form content imbues a tempting gift of restoring your attention span and making you feel better about yourself. It’s true, if attention is being paid, that is.
Podcasts, YouTube commentary, Netflix documentaries; all cater to expand our minds on new perspectives and the changes in cultures. Engaging with them offers us potential for improvement that gradually morphs into an illusion of productivity, and eventually into the noise needed to fill the gaps of uncertainty.
Music is talked about less often, I’ve observed. There’s a growing recognition that modern music feels like “fast fashion”. A viral moment made to last for a few seconds, a TikTok trend that plays no substantial importance in the listener’s life. And the listeners in question? We often feed this need for attention-grabbing “music” in our daily life. It’s not just about the energetic, fast-paced songs, Instagrammable beats, instantaneous skips. Beyond that lies the desire to perform a personality — one that is unable to rest still without a stream of songs ready to dictate your mood and emotions throughout the day. One that renders you incapable of enjoying any moment or activity without background noise. One where silence is made painstakingly obvious otherwise.
And of course, identity is linked to overplaying a specific artist on Spotify just for the stats. Or even worse, when listening to a given number of minutes is regarded as “cool”. Rather than displaying the music you enjoyed, it now constructs your self-worth on the uneven grounds of online trends.
Slowly, it reaches a point where you stop appreciating the music and listening to your favorite songs doesn’t feel good anymore. You stop pondering upon the podcast discussions; you don’t listen, you don’t watch. Eventually, you stop engaging with life, and all actions stem from unrecognized habits. Decisions are not made; taking control feels suffocating, and all empty spaces start to feel uncomfortable.
