I VISITED A FRIEND recently who didn’t have a television. I don’t either, but it still struck me as particularly bold because this friend also has children. They don’t live with her full-time but they visit at weekends. ‘Don’t they get bored?’ I ventured, expecting her to tell me that they were avid readers or outdoor types. Her response? ‘Oh they’re glued to their phones, particularly my son.’ The son is 16. My friend is a great parent and does lots of things with her children but there is no escaping the fact that in 2015 a screen simply must be stared at. And in the absence of a TV screen a phone screen will do very nicely, thank you very much.
What are people looking at for hours on the internet? Are they reading long-form journalism or watching investigative documentaries? As if! If they’re anything like me they’re checking out the latest McDonald’s brawl on TMZ, or keeping up to date with who looks good in a bikini this week on MailOnline. I’d love for you to think that I spend my time reading The Economist but I don’t. Judging by the most popular sites on the web, there’s a very big gap between what content people say they want to consume and what they actually consume.
I used to be so bored as I got ready for school that I would read every word on a box of Cornflakes. No need for that nowadays. There’s a constant supply of content that’s in no danger of drying up anytime soon – generated as it is by the contents of millions of people’s head. Social media is addictive. When did you last check your Instagram feed? Or Twitter? Or Facebook? Hadn’t you better check on it right now?