Let’s Stop Calling It “Content”
Hollywood and tech firms want to reduce culture to a slurry of interchangeable bits. Let’s not help them out
The word "content" has become overly generic and vague. It's used to describe everything from news articles to blog posts to social media posts to video games to movies to TV shows. This makes it difficult to distinguish between different types of media and to evaluate their quality.
The author also points out that the word "content" is often used to devalue creative work. Hollywood and tech firms often see culture as a commodity that can be mass-produced and monetized. They use the word "content" to describe their products in a way that makes them seem more generic and less valuable.
I think we should all try to stop using the word "content" to describe creative work. Instead, we should use more specific and descriptive terms, such as "articles," "blog posts," "social media posts," "video games," "movies," and "TV shows." This will help us to better appreciate the diversity of culture and to evaluate the quality of creative work more accurately.
Here are some other reasons why I think we should stop calling it "content":
The word "content" is impersonal and indistinct. It doesn't convey the unique qualities of different types of media or the creativity and effort that goes into producing them.
The word "content" is often used in a dismissive way. People might say that something is "just content" to mean that it's not important or valuable.
The word "content" is often used to justify the production of low-quality or unoriginal work. If something is just "content," then it doesn't matter if it's good or not.
I think we should all try to be more thoughtful about the language we use to describe culture. By using more specific and descriptive terms, we can help to promote a better understanding of and appreciation for the arts and humanities.