Creative Surplus?
I've read a few ideas online that there is a creative or cognitive surplus going around. The idea (my poor synopsis) is that for years the sitcom has acted as a kind of lobotomy and as television dies, people are getting back brain power. The internet is a great place to pour that brain power and we're now reading, thinking, writing. In theory it sounds all fine and dandy, but I have one question: where's my surplus? As I've gotten older I've felt like the surplus I had in my 20s is vanishing. In my 20s I had time to read, think, write (though no where to publish), and do things. I had ideas. I had time, despite my job. It was like the yoke of school thrown off was enough to free up the world.
Now in my 30s, I feel that the surplus is gone. I'm thrilled to watch 90 minutes of television in a day (sometimes I'm happy with 60). In my 20s I watched much more television. I watched enough television to make the claim (for 2-3 seasons at least) that I'd seen one episode of every show offered by the networks and could discuss the plot with people. Forget reading, a little before bed seems like a major victory.
My take on this? The surplus that many are seeing? Young people coming out of school with lots of free time. The difference? We're hearing from these Gen Y kids because they have a medium for broadcasting. I don't think as a society (and my incredibly scientific sample of one) that we have this great surplus of brain time that didn't previously exist. I suspect that the people who have it now have always had it. We're just hearing from them now. Every. Single. Thought.
