While I was cleaning toilets recently, a song came on an Apple Music artist station I didn’t particularly like - I didn't hate it, or anything, it just didn't really grab me.
Instinctively, though, I started reaching for my phone to hit the skip button - and stopped myself, because my hands were probably germy and gross. That led to a moment of internal tension - I couldn't dismiss something "meh", and instantly summon something I liked more, with a single button press like I'm used to.
Then it hit me - back in my day, listening to music during a task usually meant turning on the radio. No skip button, (almost) no control at all over the playlist...you'd crank it up for one you liked, and try to ignore annoying DJs and AC/DC1 as much as you could.
The idea that you can push a button to make something you don’t like go away, replaced by something you might like better, seems dangerously addictive, and unrealistic compared to how the entire rest of the world operates.
In the real world, you have to live in imperfect, often unchangeable situations with imperfect people. But on the screen...don’t like what you see? One more effortless swipe, and you might have your feelings validated, you might feel righteous rage, you might be aroused2...or, you might find something you dislike even more. When there's so little effort required, and so much "reward" possible - why not tap or swipe away?
It feels like the variable reinforcement structures at play in a casino, or mobile game - teaching you that art, ideas, even people who cause you discomfort don’t need to be tolerated or approached with a curious mind, because there's a chance that the next thing that comes along will be less stressful. Getting up and leaving in the middle of a theatrical performance typically implies impatience, prudishness, or some other fragile trait. The opposite trait seems much more adaptive for real life - finding ways to enjoy something. Answering “what do I like about this?” “How can I make this fun?”
I think I'm going to try to listen to an entire album, start-to-finish, and see what I can appreciate about my least favorite track. Unless it's AC/DC.3