October 21, 2025

Jason Parham, Wired (via Nick Heer):

The current era of content production prioritizes aesthetics over substance. We are a culture hooked on optimization and exposure; we crave to be seen. We live on our phones and through our screens. We’re endlessly watching and being watched, submerged in a state of looking. With a sort of all-consuming greed, we are transforming into a visual-first society — an infinite form of entertainment for one another to consume, share, fight over, and find meaning through.

Emphasis mine

I have nothing personally to add, just that I’m eerily reminded of Father John Misty’s “Total Entertainment Forever” when reading this.

And now the future's definition is so much higher than it was last yearIt's like the images have all become realAnd someone's living my life for me out in the mirrorNo, can you believeHow far we've comeIn the New Age?Freedom to have what you wantIn the New AgeWe'll all be entertainedRich or poorThe channels are all the same[...]When the historians find us we'll be in our homesPlugged into our hubsSkin and bonesA frozen smile on every faceAs the stories replayThis must have been a wonderful place