This past week, I found myself in a writing rut as I contemplated my next blog post. I had an extensive list of blog topics when I first launched this website, but now it has dwindled to a few scattered ideas.

My goal is to create one blog post a week as I continue to build an audience for Legend Has It and this website. At first, that goal felt reasonable. But then the holidays came around and life got in the way. My time between posts has stretched into the 10-day mark.
I know that's not a crisis or anything to worry about. Some weeks, the words flow from my fingertips. Other times, it's a slog to push a paragraph to completion. I think what happens is my own expectations, especially in a world where people have an appetite for constant content.
You see this on every social media app from the top creators - a steady stream of content. I sometimes wonder how they manage to pump out so much content in these short windows. I quickly remember many of them have large teams working continuously on the next project, while simultaneously planning and plotting content weeks and months out.
Other creators might not have a small business worth of employees working on content. Some are one-person shows, but they dedicate work-like hours to their social media channels. You see a new, intricate post daily and wonder when they sleep.
It wasn't always like this.
Before social media, content came from features in newspapers, magazines, TV shows and documentaries. You didn't have full seasons of TV series released all at once and then instantly crave the next one the following day. Newspapers had daily stories, but limited space, so they had to be selective. Magazines were the same way.
But today, social media channels like YouTube and TikTok have created an insatiable appetite for content at a frantic level. We can't stop consuming it. If the supply suddenly stopped, we'd turn our attention elsewhere.
And therein lies the rub.
Social media developers quickly realized they needed to keep eyeballs on their respective platforms or risk losing them to other distractions. So what did they do? They adjusted their algorithms to incentivize content creators to post constantly and continuously. The algorithm favored creators that consistently rolled out new content, which, in turn, encouraged viewers to keep coming back at a frenzied pace.
Today, the most popular YouTube creators are those with an endless scroll of content at the ready. These creators are boosted by YouTube, which keeps audiences fixated on their screens.
While there's nothing wrong with social media channels having pages upon pages of steady content, it has created unrealistic expectations. Some of the most well-known YouTube creators have stepped away from their channels, handing the reigns to someone else within their circles. Some creators have even gone on record to express how the demands for so much content have put a strain on their mental health.
I can see why. While I don't have a popular platform on any social media site, I still feel that small ping of anxiety whenever my website sits too long without a new blog post. I can only imagine what it must be like when you have a massive audience that is itching for your next insightful take. It's a lot of pressure.
The problem is that today's audiences - generally speaking - don't care about what it takes to produce content. They just want it and they want it yesterday. To keep up with that type of demand, something has to give. It's usually quality.
I'm not saying you can't find quality content. It's out there, but it feels like we've created unhealthy and unrealistic expectations. So much content these days feels rushed and unpolished. Browse through YouTube, TikTok or even Netflix and you'll see what I mean. I spend more time scrolling through Netflix to find a quality show or movie than I do watching the actual content. There's just so much content out there, with the quality drowned out in a sea of quantity.
I'd love to have the capacity to post a new blog post every day, but it's not realistic. Life alone requires so much time, and I'm not even referring to my creative endeavors. It's unfortunate quantity holds the value it does today. Perhaps the pendulum will swing the other way and we'll get a new craving for quality. Here's hoping.
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