Words are out, the emoji reigns; it’s a universal language. Image is everything. NETFLIX! NETFLIX! NETFLIX! we chant. I’m conflicted.
In such visual times, why does the internet feel so full… of words? A bit like 8 people at a dinner party around a table that´s designed for 4.
Blog! Online magazine. Subscription monthly weekly daily hourly minutely. Regular bulletins. Special bulletins. One-off newsletters. Triannual bilateral newsfeed. Guest post! Letter to the editor’s mum who lives next door. Quick slow long reminders. And we won’t even mention the petitions.
Even Instagram stinks of words. The dynamic relationship between image and caption quickly disintegrates into hashtags. And then there’s clickbait. Here you are, reading your fascinating article about this terrible thing and it’s really interesting and informative. Before you know it, 2 hours have passed, because every five words is a link to another article, or a pdf, and some of these pdfs are 412 pages long and it’s wonderful because we can all check our references, right? I can actually read the judge’s report on the state of the grass in Wheathampstead. Jokes aside, this is important. I should be able to read all this stuff and check these things. NO BLIND FAITH: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ONLY. So why am I overwhelmed? How can I possibly know all stuff about everything?
And you suppose (apart from when your Google account tells you you’ve reached your limit) that the internet can never really be full. There will never be no more space, it will go on and on expanding in this messy spiralizing vomiting hacking spying beast.
Claustrophobic? full of words words more words more more words.
My conflict? It is totally unnecessary to add any more words to the universe. But I like words! But there’s no space left! I like space! How can I justify feeding this monster? I should just shut up! It’s not like I have anything important to say! Dilemma ongoing and unsolved.
hannahberry.org 