Media Block

The world is chalk full of ideas. For years, ideas could only be presented to those within your voice. Once language was further developed, writing became a tool as well, but that was still privy to those who actually learned to read and write. In modern days, most ideas gain traction based on the elegance of the originator. Today, even the most simple can express themselves through the tools of AI, allowing nearly any idea to find its way into the world.

There’s something beautiful about storytelling. The ancient world was brilliant at understanding exactly how to tell a story that not only captivated an audience but also kept history alive. Because it was such an important role, it was often elders that people looked to for the stories of their people.

With the development of writing, people had a new person to look towards. Rather than the elders, it was now the educated. People looked to those who could read to share the stories passed down now in writing. This didn’t discount the tales of the elders, but it did create a more established narrative. Going forward, when someone spoke of history, there was always a chance an educated person could refer to the text and correct the verbal history.

As education became a more common occurrence, ideas and stories flooded into society. The world was suddenly overwhelmed with ideas. It was not just educators and elders now. While in some ways, this was wonderful, in other ways, it was overbearing. How do you know who to listen to? How do you know what is right? It all came down to elegance.

Anyone could tell a story, but some could captivate the audience. They could bring them into the hills of the past. Let them smell the flowers of history and feel the cool waters of ancient time. Any writer could write a story, but only some could use their words to build an archway through time. Create a path of words leading to the emerald city of imagination. The elegance of the teller became the standard for people. The more elegant a presenter, the more people you had listening.

Today, the elegance is no longer a skill one needs to perfect. With AI, someone can spend thirty minutes throwing in prompt after prompt until the computer creates an elegant text. With a few prompts, a video can be made that will captivate viewers long enough to present a short story. Media is constant. You are constantly bombarded by it, and the ease of its creation is making it harder to ignore.

As a creator, taking part in media is crucial to better myself. If I don’t read, I can’t see new writing techniques. If I don’t watch shows, I can’t see different ways to tell stories. If I don’t listen to music, I can’t understand how a sound can change how someone feels. With all the media one needs to consume, there’s almost no time to create.

In the ancient days, most people were listeners. Today, people use short cuts to create so they can be listeners. People are so overwhelmed with media they don’t have time for anything else. There is always a movie coming out, always a TV show, and always a podcast to listen to. There are roughly 4.42 million podcasts globally. If you wanted to listen to even a fraction of them daily, you would have time for nothing else.

In some ways, the days of the elders would be nice. The only stories in the world were the ones you told your family as the patriarch. Now, it’s a struggle to even have the time to tell a story. It’s a struggle not to get drowned in the ever flooding world of media.