All Likes Matter: On Content Creation And The Myth Of "Free" Engagement

The fact that I consume tons of original media (e.g., podcast, videos, etc.) isn’t unique.  However, my inference of how creators often trivialize the resources audience members spend engaging with their content is.  Whether it’s pushing for donations or likes, the notion that we owe them for unpaid labor is laughable, if not ignorant.  In short, there is no such thing as “free” engagement.  Insisting so merely enables a media infrastructure with a high barrier of entry and low variance. 

In content creators’ defense, capitalism trains us to believe a lot of resources are either free or naturally cheap.  The $1 menu at McDonald’s, for example, is marketed as this frugal means of sustenance, that you’d have to be a fool to pass up.  In reality, the agriculture needed to mass-produce fast food so cheaply will show its expense in the long run.  Researchers from the University of Minnesota, Nebraska and Stanford University acknowledge this truth as well, warning “Each defense sows the evolutionary seeds of its own demise”; in reference to the engineering that goes into keeping crops resistant to pathogens.

Similarly, some content creators insist that the least we could do is donate, given we’re listening for free.  But we do pay, with our time.  The shitty grades I got for online courses I took last Summer could be partially attributed to the increase in my podcast consumption during that interval.  Namely, I even had to repeat one class, costing an unnecessary $1000 or so.  Thus, it could be argued that creators should be paying me to listen to them!

Likewise, even an action as innocuous as liking a YouTube video has more social repercussions than producers imply.  Further, an article from Ohio university explains “Sites that attract more comments, likes/dislikes, and views may achieve higher search-engine popularity rankings.” And since results pages have limited space, it follows that a like for one creator means less visibility for another.  Clearly, the fact that Instagram has been toying on and off with the idea of removing likes alludes to the zero-sum nature of media engagement.  I.e., the likes are not free. 

Moreover, it’s understandable for content creators to expect capital for their artistic endeavors.  But rather than selling flawed economics, opting out of a model that requires so much investment to reach the masses may be more ethical.  Also, being mindful of what content we spend our time and even likes on is what consumers can do to maintain democracy in the realm of content creation.  With that said, thanks for reading, and stay pissed.