Escaping the Content Creator Mindset
Why it's a growing problem + five ways to overcome it.
The word “content” leaves a funny taste in many creators’ mouths, but we still use it. “Content” is the bucket term for a wide variety of media (but most often short form video) intended for popular consumption. Creators feel pressure to feed algorithms and create for a generation of people who have short attention spans and constantly want more dopamine.
Interestingly enough, content as in “satisfied” and content as in “contained in” both come from the same Latin root word continere meaning “to maintain, to sustain, to contain.” Today, our idea of content doesn’t sustain or content anyone other than the media giants making money off of it. Instead, the point is to get people to want more, scroll more, click more to feed their dopamine cravings. Tiktok, Instagram, and YouTube are popular sites for people who create content. But as
pointed out, content on social sites puts your content next to a boatload of other stuff algorithmically inclined to appeal to the viewer.Today I’m exploring some of the problems that come with the term “content creator.” The concept behind this idea is cool… someone with a broad skill set that creates a variety of different things for people to consume.
But some issues arise.
Problems with the “content creator” mindset.
-Content creators are pressured to put metrics before the actual well-being of their audience — the content doesn’t have to be good, it just has to be entertaining.
-Today’s platform formats severely limit the creativity of artists, due to algorithms and the push to follow various trends.
- Audience are more likely to view content as disposable and consumable, which means creations have less of a desired impact.
-Artists are incentivized to create lots of low quality work instead of a few high quality pieces.
-The social media platforms are not designed for artists, they are designed for brands and marketing.
-The content creator mindset can hack your everyday life and suck the joy out of little things, since you’re always looking for new content.
The content creation mindset can lead to imposter syndrome, burnout, and general feelings of icky-ness as souls are sold to the algorithm.
Anything can be content. It takes effort to make art.
How to switch your mindset.
Change your language. Content creator might be technically accurate, but it carries with it connotations that affect the way you and other people view what you create. Multi-media artist, writer, designer, videographer. These terms keep you more in touch with your craft than the vague catch-all of content creator. What do you actually do? What do you actually love? Identify with that.
Figure out the direction you’re headed in. What is your why? What are your goals? Many times what you actually want and what you think you want are two different things. Many people end up in the content creator mindset because they believe it will lead to what they (think) they want. They end up not being happy because it’s not what they actually want. If you have a solid plan and a solid direction, it will help you concentrate your efforts instead of spreading them out over multiple platforms.
For example, I’ve begun to make audio and video versions of my posts and putting them to Spotify and YouTube. My goal of this isn’t attracting new people, it’s to make them more accessible for my existing audience. I still keep my focus on writing the highest quality articles I can each week and posting them to Flight Patterns.Centralize your body of work. I fear too many artists are spreading themselves thin by trying to be everywhere on the internet. I have my Substack, a Linktree, and an in-need-of-updating author website, which all tie in and link to each other.
These three are my main hub of business, my creative home. Any one site gives you a good idea of who I am and what I’m doing. I’m not against being present on many different sites, just don’t feel the need to create content for all of them.
This is why I am a big proponent of a blog and email list, because it centralizes what you’re doing and delivers it directly into the hands of your readers.
What would you be doing if social media wasn’t a thing? Would you have more time to actually write that book? Hone your craft? Create more art? Would you give yourself permission to make mistakes, knowing no one will see them? Would you feel confident in being yourself when you don’t feel you have to imitate everyone online?
Long form content. I have deliberately been consuming long form content to fight doomscrolling and train my attention span. Long form content is defined as videos over 10 minutes and written pieces over 1000 words.1 I believe that by creating longer works, we are forced to think more deeply and explore a topic more thoroughly. I had a class where we were assigned over 5000 words on a country that I started the class knowing nothing about. This gave me two options: write something vague and repetitive, or think deeply and empathize with the country, people, and culture.
When we get back to the original meaning of content, each creator should ask themselves if they are satisfying their audience’s deeper needs— community, vulnerability, truth, conviction, and honest encouragement— not simply entertainment. Have we made something just to have something to show and entertain people? Or have we made something that brings glory to God? Would you be satisfied with your creation if no one else ever saw it?
2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” If you were showcasing your work to God, would you feel embarrassed?
Ephesians 6:6-8 tells us that our work is not to look nice for other humans but to align with what God wants. “Not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.”
When we create we can take from our Creator’s example; “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31.)
In conclusion, the concept of “content” devalues and distracts from creating quality, worthy art. We can fight this by
-changing the way we talk and think about what we do in an honest and humble way.
-concentrating our focus so we have a vision of our work and can create deeper, more impactful pieces.
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Opinions on this vary based on platform and context. I selected average, round numbers based on general internet consensus but these are not scientific.