I just read a disturbing essay called “The State of the Culture, 2024” on The Honest Broker by Ted Gioia who says the public is leaning heavily toward no longer wanting entertainment as we know it: movies, books, theater, art, new music.

People want distraction.

They want to scroll, to look at something for a few seconds, then scroll to the next thing.

Disturbingly, the essay went on to say, what happens is people become addicted to that cycle.

Gioia calls it a Dopamine Loop that begins with Stimulus which leads to Dopamine Release, leading to Desire For More, leading to Habit Formation, leading to another Stimulus.

That cycle plays right into the hands of content creators who want your unquestioning addiction.

This is worse than AI coming to take the jobs of creatives around the world (which, thankfully, it hasn’t. Yet.).

This is US taking away the jobs.

But not just the jobs, the foundational culture of our society.

When AI insinuated itself onto the scene, my first thought was, “Isn’t this interesting. This can be good or bad.”

But with this Distraction-Addiction model, I can’t see any good.

Ten-second reels?

Snap chat?

Cute puppies.

Pretty interiors.

Scroll, scroll, scroll.

A twenty-second street-dancing video? (Wait. I like street-dancing videos.)

Art, in its most classic sense, is something to look at and ponder over and wonder about.

A person stands close up to a painting, then steps back.

Looks at it from the left and then the right.

If it’s a sculpture, they can even go behind it.

It takes time—and imagination—to understand what the artist intended, to appreciate the culture in which the piece was created, to be amazed at the brush strokes left behind by an artist from hundreds of years ago.

Likewise, a book requires time to dive into.

A book leads the reader by the hand from image to image, scene to scene.

It’s an invitation to the reader to lose themselves in someone else’s world for a while.

If all we’re doing is scrolling, distracting ourselves on images that don’t seep into our brain before we’re off to the next thing, what does that say about us?

That we won’t tolerate art—unless its intent is obvious at a glance?

No more stories—unless it’s a caption of ten to twenty words—or less.

No more new music—because our brains can’t rest long enough to hear and appreciate unfamiliar sounds.

This is chilling.

The only way to prevent this is to start in the home.

That’s where everything important starts.

Right?

It’s more imperative than ever to insist that phones be put away, not just at the dinner table, but for hours at a time.

Get your kids outside, without a phone.

We all need to get outside.

Breathe, feel the wind and the sun, touch the grass, smell the proverbial roses.

Grow the roses!

Take your kids on field trips to museums and galleries and the library and the movies.

Show them how to slow down and appreciate the work of others.

Show them how to walk with an author through a story, turn an actual page, follow the words with their finger.

Read the acknowledgements page, the dedication page.

Savor the illustrations.

Let a child learn the satisfaction of reading a whole book and being happy they took the time to get past the first few pages.

Show a child the satisfaction of engaging with an artist or author who is no longer alive but whose work lives on.

For the love of everything, put down the phone.

Go outside.

If you haven’t scrolled past this post on the way to your next hit, comment “Y” for Yay, You, in the comments section.

And I’d love it if you could pass this post along to a friend who might want to read it today.

Thank you!

Until next time,

~ Gail

Countdown: 43 more weeks of 2024

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