Am I being Captain Obvious when I say that we live in a 24/7, sensational, instant gratification world – where we gorge on content at a furious pace?
Do you even need to be reminded that opinions, issues and information run at mind-numbingly razor-fast speeds around the planet – and around the clock, consumed like drinking from a fire hose?
From teenaged addiction to Snapchat and Instagram, to our adult obsessions with LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook – and the endless sports/news/social talking heads, we’re certifiably bloated with options for reading, watching, listening.
And don’t forget the ocean of personal, business and entertainment blogs out there. We are saturated with information stimulation, making “Content” the undisputed new king of consumables.
But why are we so comfortable waterboarding ourselves with dumbed-down intake – and do we even realize how quickly the bar for quality material is falling?
We clog our devices with mindless memes, quick-fix videos and sensational reporting– with little or no thought. And reading, watching and sharing partisan-hack information from both sides of the aisle is the new norm.
We no longer seek to be challenged or educated. We crave red-meat, cotton-candy, low-brow content.
Long gone are the days when a solid, common sense opinion article or a masterfully authored book are conversation topics. Now, we throw crack-pot, presidential Tweets and cat memes around the horn – with expert ease and shockingly little thought.
Our “information” cravings are now limited only by the number of outlets we are willing to follow.
As this continues with no hope of reversal, we’re dumbing down multiple generations. And no amount of consternation from myself or anyone else will change that.
I’d like to think that we’re better than this.
But, sadly, we’re not.
Bruce Martin is the President of Broad & Pattison, Inc., the leading management recruiting and executive search firm serving the U.S. automotive industry. His career includes executive assignments with DaimlerChrysler, GE Capital and Adecco, NA. Mr. Martin is a member of the Board of Directors for the Career & Networking Center, a Not-For-Profit based in Naperville, IL, and he serves on the industry Advisory Board of motormindz, an automotive Think-Tank based in suburban Detroit, MI. Follow Bruce on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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