The creation pandemic
In the beginning, God created. Now everybody wants to be a content creator, it is exhausting
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
That is one of the world’s oldest creation stories. If you’re a Christian, that’s your origin story. If you’re not, you most likely have a creation story of your own, whether it’s the Big Bang, evolution, or something else. Either way, we all trace back to being made, putting creation at the center of how we understand the world.
(Content) Creation is a good thing, but there is a pandemic of it right now, and it is getting on my nerves. I’d have said it isn’t creation itself that bothers me, but the quest for money that has turned creating into a gold rush. That’s not completely correct. No doubt, the almighty dollar, the transcendent rupee, the zen yen, the dear ol’ euro, the what’s-goin’-on yuan,¹ and the how-much-is-it-now naira all have their excellent share of driving this pandemic.
I know a few views and a couple of followers won’t pay anyone’s bills, but the belief that they might one day add up to, is enough to keep people chasing.
But what disturbs me most is the needless theatrics, the way we’ve taken Shakespeare’s “all the world’s a stage”² a little too literally. So, everyone everywhere wants to be a content creator, and we see them everywhere. They’re on your street. At the swimming pool. At the gym. In your workplace. At the market. At the train station. In your classroom. At the restaurant… Even in church, which is understandable. After all, God is the creator of the heavens and the earth. You know what I’m saying? But where does it end?
Get Opeyemi Ekundayo’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
When you come from communities where the pressure to make money fast is real and the “easiest” path to controlling your own room and parlor seems to be “Hello, welcome to…,” you cannot but wonder how much of this is organic and how much is engineered. It is why I sometimes understand, or at least tolerate, some people’s belief that content creation is another way to conquer and brainwash us through screens.
Back to the quick nucks (Don’t search that; it is my attempt to blend bucks with Naira). A number of these people who are filming strangers at the train station, turning classrooms into content studios, setting up cameras at restaurants, documenting every splash at the swimming pool, or making their workplace a backdrop for the next reel just want the money. Whether it is immediate, on the horizon, or long-term doesn’t make much of a difference to me, and I get it.
What gets me is the needless invasion of everyone else’s space in the process. Some of us just want to take the train, attend a class, eat our food, swim, or do our jobs in peace without accidentally becoming supporting characters in your content.
Beyond that, let’s face it. We all don’t have to be content creators, God damnit (Yes, I’m saying it in a content creator’s voice 🤣)³. Nope. You don’t need to start a podcast, write a newsletter, own a YouTube channel, or document your life publicly. If it works for you, do it. But don’t feel pressured to do it; nay, I mean, don’t contribute to the pandemic; it’s exhausting.
So, what do we do about the creation pandemic? I don’t know! But accepting that not everyone needs to be a creator or know one or follow one is a great first step. Which is funny for me to say, considering I’m sitting here writing a Medium article about how content creation is a pandemic. While others continue creating, making money, travelling the world, and bagging ***, I’m here forming Scribe. God help me. 😭
- CLP Vanity Card #248 https://chucklorreproductions.blogspot.com/2011/11/chuck-lorre-productions-248.html
- William Shakespeare’s As You Like It https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_world%27s_a_stage#Tex
- Share the link with me if you have it. Couldn’t find it
