Internet Media's Economic Drive Towards Passive Television Consumption

Key Quotes

"A spooky convergence is happening in media everything that is not already television is turning into television."

Derek Thompson, as quoted by Cal Newport, posits a central thesis about the current state of media. This statement suggests a pervasive trend where various forms of media are converging towards a television-like model, implying a transformation in how content is produced and consumed.

"More than 80% of time spent on Facebook they revealed and more than 90% of time spent on Instagram is now dedicated to watching videos most of them being videos created by people who the users do not directly know."

Cal Newport highlights data from Meta's antitrust trial brief to illustrate Thompson's argument about the death of social media. This statistic demonstrates a significant shift on major social platforms from user-to-user interaction to passive video consumption, mirroring traditional television viewing habits.

"Williams called this flow. It's not like a discrete thing, it's just sort of something that flows by."

Newport explains Raymond Williams' concept of "flow" as a defining characteristic of television, contrasting it with discrete forms of entertainment like books or plays. This concept is crucial for understanding Thompson's argument that internet-based media is adopting this continuous, non-specific streaming characteristic.

"Television seems to be the attractor of all media."

Thompson, as presented by Newport, uses the concept of an "attractor" from dynamical systems theory to describe television's pull on all media forms. This metaphor suggests that media, particularly internet-based media, is inevitably evolving towards this established, continuous video stream model.

"My beef is not with the entire medium of moving images. My concern is what happens when the grammar of television suddenly conquers the entire media landscape."

Derek Thompson articulates his core concern, which Cal Newport elaborates on, not being with video content itself, but with the dominance of the "grammar of television" across all media. This highlights a worry about the potential negative consequences of this pervasive shift in media consumption.

"The existing television industry is so large and lucrative that it's not surprising that when a new technology came along that enabled the creation of an upgraded television experience, a lot of investment energy went towards these goals."

Cal Newport refines his take on Thompson's argument, shifting the emphasis from technological determinism to economic determinism. Newport suggests that the immense profitability of the television industry incentivized entrepreneurs to leverage new internet and smartphone technologies to create an "upgraded television experience."

"Prediction number one: Major podcasts are going to have to have video to be a serious player. I think even other types of internet media that we don't think about as being multimedia at all like newsletters are going to eventually need to have some sort of video content if they want to be a part of the full like entertainment ecosystem."

Cal Newport makes a prediction about the future of internet media, emphasizing the increasing necessity of video content for all platforms, including podcasts and newsletters, to remain competitive. This prediction stems from the ongoing convergence of media towards a television-like model.

"Prediction number two: I think this convergence of internet media towards television is bad news for the existing social media giants."

Newport predicts that the shift of internet media towards a television model will negatively impact established social media giants. He argues that their competitive advantage, based on social graphs, becomes irrelevant in a television-like environment, leading to increased competition and potential decline.

"Prediction number three: I believe that abstention from a lot of this becomes a lot easier as the internet based media moves towards television."

Cal Newport offers a positive outlook for individuals, predicting that as internet media becomes more like television, it will become easier to abstain from it. He draws a parallel to traditional television, where it was normative to not watch a lot of it, suggesting a similar cultural shift will occur.

"The only exception would be if your boss is expecting you to be doing more with that other time than is possible like you're being very intentional like why didn't you do these other optional projects well now you have a record like oh i time block i keep track of my time let me show you what's going on here on average i'm getting like two interruptions on the scale of like three to four hours per day which is leaving about this many hours that is fractured between a few different stretches i'm very organized with my time i i time block my time after every interruption."

Cal Newport advises an automation engineer dealing with frequent interruptions to maintain intention in their work, even if plans need to be constantly adjusted. He suggests that by time-blocking and keeping records of interruptions and available time, one can demonstrate their productivity and intentionality to management.

"If it stresses you out Scott, just get rid of the list. You know, or you can write down ideas, but don't stress about like crossing them all off. It's just like having as long as you're not just sitting there like, 'If only I had a list, but I don't, so now I'm just here at the wall.'"

Cal Newport advises Scott against the stress of managing extensive reading and watching lists. He suggests that focusing on what one is currently excited about and enjoying the content is more beneficial than feeling pressure to complete an ever-growing, potentially endless list.

"My beef is not with the entire medium of moving images. My concern is what happens when the grammar of television suddenly conquers the entire media landscape."

Derek Thompson, as quoted by Cal Newport, expresses concern not about video content itself, but about the pervasive adoption of television's structural and experiential characteristics across all media. This highlights a worry about the potential negative consequences of this shift on cognitive abilities and social connection.

"The only exception would be if your boss is expecting you to be doing more with that other time than is possible like you're being very intentional like why didn't you do these other optional projects well now you have a record like oh i time block i keep track of my time let me show you what's going on here on average i'm getting like two interruptions on the scale of like three to four hours per day which is leaving about this many hours that is fractured between a few different stretches i'm very organized with my time i i time block my time after every interruption."

Cal Newport advises an automation engineer dealing with frequent interruptions to maintain intention in their work, even if plans need to be constantly adjusted. He suggests that by time-blocking and keeping records of interruptions and available time, one can demonstrate their productivity and intentionality to management.

"My beef is not with the entire medium of moving images. My concern is what happens when the grammar of television suddenly conquers the entire media landscape."

Derek Thompson, as quoted by Cal Newport, expresses concern not about video content itself, but about the pervasive adoption of television's structural and experiential characteristics across all media. This highlights a worry about the potential negative consequences of this shift on cognitive abilities and social connection.

"My beef is not with the entire medium of moving images.