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People used to comment on web comics.
People used to comment on fanfiction.
People used to comment on fanart.
People used to comment on OCs.
I hate “content” culture.
I hate “consuming content” and scrolling immediately to the next thing.
People used to be excited about the art that other people created.
People used to want to share that excitement with creators.
I hate this future.
Once someone tagged art that I made with “woah” and I think about it at least once a week. Someone else said “oh neat” once. Someone else WROTE A WHOLE DAMN POEM IN THE COMMENTS. Anyways even just one word can change how someone sees their art. You don’t even have to think about it too hard. You could put a keyboard smash and I’d probably cry from joy.
I’m also trying hard to interact more, I understand that it’s hard to break away from opening your phone and being in Content Consumption Mode.
Some years ago I joined a new site that had no likes/kudos/public-favorites, re-whatevers, or any other kind of empty-calorie “interactions.” The only way to interact was to either type a reply/comment, or create an entirely new post of your own and link to the other post. Very frequently when new people joined, they’d immediately shout “WTF, where are the likes? I MUST HAVE LIKES!!! How else will I know people saw my post? How else will I interact with other posts?” The owner of the site (or, eventually, more experienced members as well) would explain the philosophy behind the site, why there were no likes or other junk features, and explain the very simple ways one could use to interact. It was a tedious Eternal September, but invariably after a few weeks, the new arrival would get in the habit of commenting on others’ posts and appreciating the significantly greater value of having comments on their own posts in return. There really is something wonderful about more human interactions.
All of which is a long intro for my point, which was after a few months of watching this cycle, I noted that you had to retrain your brain to unlearn those old habits first, and then you’d be much happier. But, like everything else, it does take effort, and the longer you’ve been used to the addictive parameters of “Content Consumption Culture,” the longer and more difficult it probably will be to adjust. Don’t get discouraged if it’s hard for you to adapt, just keep trying; it’s worth it in the end. The way things used to be—and can be again—was much more humane, much more human. (Even better, this is one of those things where small, individual actions really do make a notable difference—in the life of the human on the other end of your comment, but also in the health of the community as a whole.)
(Also, this might be a great time for a reminder that historically, consumption was a word used to describe a condition where people wasted away from a then-common disease. In that sense, it’s apt for the cultural usage here.)
Love these posts, @blackheartbiohazards and @depodraws 👏❤️
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