Anyone else get overwhelmed when thinking about all the content out there? Movies, books, video games etc?

[Deleted member 21339]

I get this feeling when I walk into a bookstore or read the 'What Movies Have you Seen Recently' thread or think about all the new games out there that I'd like to play or all the alleged great TV shows now on Netflix or Prime. And I don't even have kids! But I do have a demanding regular job with a tough commute. How do you folks decide what is most worth your time? Are you impulsive about it or do you have a thoughtful system? This probably reads as total First World Problems, I mean who should complain about too much entertainment choices in your free time but it's something that's on my mind lately.

 

[TerminusFox]

Paradox Of Choice in action.

 

[Daitokuji]

Yes you will never be able to enjoy all the good content in your lifetime.

Even if no more movies, games, books, etc. were ever produced you still wouldn't be able to enjoy all the great, existing content in a single or possibly even multiple lifetimes.

 

[entremet]

Yeah, Paradox of Choice plus FOMO.

I came to peace with it since you will never read, watch, play the best out there. Just be ruthless with stuff you're not enjoying. I drop books, TV series, games, and such that don't keep my engaged all the time.

 

[CloseTalker]

Even more overwhelming when you consider how much time is wasted here instead of consuming said content haha

 

[Betty]

All the time.

There's just too much I want to enjoy and not enough time to do it all.

 

[johnnydork]

I regularly watch movies on my tv while streaming Netflix on an iPad on my lap. It helps keep up to date.

 

[Crissaegrim]

Yup, there will never be time to consume it all. For me it's games, I keep buying but don't have the time to beat any, then the next game comes around and I buy it...it's a vicious way of life.

 

[Stranger Things]

this is why i have almost 2,000 full albums of music in my library
and that's just scratching the surface
i'm an addict tho, so i'll get close one day ... lol

most 70's, 80's, 90's records

 

[BossAttack]

Yeah, I feel that way about books and movies; not so much TV or games. With regards to the latter, I'm confident enough in my tastes to know that if I'm not watching a TV show or playing a certain game it's because I don't find them compelling. But, there are scores of movies and books I'd like to enjoy but don't have the time.

 

[Deleted member 46429]

Yes and no.

I think i got overwhelmed so long ago that I just checked out of what's new and basically just play whatever handful of media actually interests me (which lends itself to a lot of sequels and honestly rarely branching out tbh). If it means I'm getting around to stuff 5-10 years late... meh ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Hollywood Duo]

Imagine all the great stuff in eastern countries which you have no access to because of language/cultural barriers

 

[Pau]

Feel this any time I walk through a library. :(

 

[Vampire Chicken]

Yeah I feel you on that... Especially because like you I enjoy pretty much all the entertainment mediums (film, music, games, books etc.) I tend to watch more movies and listen to music since that's so much less time consuming than games and reading (I'm a pretty slow reader). Something I don't do that often is watch TV shows. That just overloads me with how long they are.

I'm to the point now where I kinda have a good idea of what interests me. If something doesn't interest me much I don't bother with it cause I have literally dozens of other things to watch/play/listen/read.

 

[samoyed]

Abandon the "fear of missing out", it does you no favors and provides no satisfaction.

 

[Deleted member 46493]

No because I don't care about most things. I know what I like, and I occasionally try new things. You're not going to get me interested in the latest super hero movie so I don't care about missing out, for example.

 

[Speely]

All these things are mostly just iterations of standard stuff. You've probably seen all of it already if you've seen any of it.

 

[Chivalry]

It's awesome if you just take your time and enjoy things. You can't consume everything, so might as well take it easy.

 

[G_Shumi]

Oh yeah. All the time. Couple that with missing out on the latest new stuff and it's a lot to handle.

 

[808s & Villainy]

Not really

 

[kittens]

I think most mainstream media isn't worth my time so I don't really have this issue. I'm happy slowly going through the small percentage of things that appeal to me.

 

[shoptroll]

Yeah, Paradox of Choice plus FOMO.

I came to peace with it since you will never read, watch, play the best out there. Just be ruthless with stuff you're not enjoying. I drop books, TV series, games, and such that don't keep my engaged all the time.

Click to shrink...

This. Also, I've been trying to cut back on services like GoodReads and Backloggery simply because I find they add to the anxiety.

 

[TissueBox]

Not just content! Works, experiences, worlds, sandboxes, fiestas and expansive landscapes! Escapist fantasies, life footnotes, political dialogues, murder-topias, battleground heavens, catchy earworms! This doesn't exist as a collective -- you can find this in individual authorships alone. These are all expressions of life, each in their own right, each with the capacity to invoke something in another person, in us.

As such, unless it's your job or passion it is not an obligation to consume everything you are given -- only to make the most of what you do..!!

What value is in taking in as much media and art the world has to offer only for the majority of it to mean little and your time and aptitude given to prove insufficient for actually letting them compel and inspire you?

Instead of trying to expand your portions, know your portions, and each meal can be more potentially enriching; sometimes a single movie, or a single game, or book series, can be soul-deep for a single lifetime -- just imagine ten..!!

 

[skyappl]

No. I enjoy the tiny fraction of things I like and have time for and that's it. I also keep an eye out for new things and do often find new things I like as well, but it's all with significant practical limits on how much I can actually explore.

In general you'll never be able to see and do everything in the world, so just follow your interests and be happy with them.

 

[Deleted member 21339]

All these things are mostly just iterations of standard stuff. You've probably seen all of it already if you've seen any of it.

Click to shrink...

Very good point

 

[Pwnz]

You have to be more selective as your life priorities change.

 

[sapien85]

I literally have a ranked list of games to play divided into 7 sub category lists and then a second longer list of things to try and rank into the original 7 lists. Plus new things come out and get added to the top if very interesting to me.

 

[Deleted member 16516]

Just savour as much as you can, in the little time you have.

 

[It’s Time To Go]

I'm currently irritating myself to death by continuously buying new games while hardly ever finishing the ones I have. I keep thinking 'oh im building a collection' but I've finished less than 10 games this whole year.

 

[staedtler]

Nope I don't need to consume everything there's way more important things in life then games and movies.

 

[Neo C.]

The most interesting bit is that I barely share the same interests with the people around me anymore. Decades ago, there were some stuff known by almost everyone. Now people seem to enjoy things exclusively by themselves.

 

[Rellodex]

Even more overwhelming when you consider how much time is wasted here instead of consuming said content haha

Click to shrink...

This does get to me.

A lot of people spend more time discussing their hobbies than actually participating in them.

But then again, a huge reason people find hobbies so engaging is because of the community. So I don't know.

 

[Dragon1893]

Just by videogames alone, nevermind the rest. I don't have time for anything.

 

[UltimateHigh]

I still haven't watched the past couple seasons of Better Call Saul and it annoys me that I've let myself get so far behind.

It's not just a too much content issue but also the easy distractions of the internet.

 

[Liberteer]

There's a project I've started (I don't even have a hashtag for it yet!) and that is streamlining down to one piece per media, which means - reading one book, watching one show and playing one game at the time.

So far so good, I am using TV Time to track my shows, and I'm wrapping up my book reading for 2018. The games are a bit problematic since I review games as well.

 

[Liberteer]

I still haven't watched the past couple seasons of Better Call Saul and it annoys me that I've let myself get so far behind.

It's not just a too much content issue but also the easy distractions of the internet.

Click to shrink...

Watched two seasons and then stopped. Decided I will rewatch at certain point.

 

[Deleted member 2802]

All the time.

There's just too much I want to enjoy and not enough time to do it all.

Click to shrink...

I need my astral projection to consume media while I slep

 

[SatoAilDarko]

Absolutely. I'm afraid I'll get interested in something and die before I see all of it.

I'm lucky that I find most television programs uninteresting and that big retail games have gone down since the early 2000's.

I'm also happy that One Piece will finish probably in 9 years. Also my favorite band TMBG is 58 and 59 so I'll probably get to hear all their music.

 

[Baha]

I used to until I decided to become more selective in my viewing/gaming habits. That said, this doesn't apply to music, I'll give just about anything a listen given how easily I can consume it during transit to and from work.

 

[TheBeardedOne]

Yes

I started telling myself that I wouldn't overdo it anymore and wouldn't try to play everything, but I still do and it's burned me out. Same goes for books, which I now have a massive to read pile of that I may never get through because I keep finding more interesting books recommended here, listed on the library's website, etc.

 

[Tragicomedy]

No.

Be selective. And dump something if it doesn't hook you immediately. I've been told to give a show "a season or two until it gets good." Nope.

 

[LL_Decitrig]

There's no reason to feel overwhelmed. That would be like standing in a supermarket and lamenting that you'll never get through all the different types of food on display.

Over time you'll discover a taste for most good things. I was in my late fifties before I really started to enjoy baroque choral music. And the great thing is that you will always be able to revisit your favourites even after decades away, acquiring a new appreciation for what you didn't realise at the time would come to be a classic.

You'll never get through it all, but you don't have to. Continue to talk to other people and compare their tastes to yours, continue to branch out on your own occasionally. You will carve out a unique aesthetic experience that reflects your personality.

 

[Yams]

No because I don't have to consume all of it

 

[Wag]

1000+ Steam backlog, not counting all the other launchers.

 

[WallSniper]

I don't stress because it is a good thing...

 

[Walter White Walker]

Nope. I'll never read, see, play, or whatever 99.9999% of what's out there and I'm perfectly ok with that. I've got a lot more things to do then consume things.

 

[Deleted member 9932]

Not really, its just entertainment. You just need to be selective. I definitely feel overwhelmed by the knowledge we were able to produce though. I want to know so much and I barely know anything.

 

[meowdi gras]

As an adherent of Sturgeon's Law, no, not really.

 

[pixelation]

Yes, knowing that I won't be able to watch, play, listen to all that I want in my lifetime is extremely depressing.

 

[HotHamBoy]

I think about this everytime someones says you "just need to get throught first 5, 10, 15 hours etc" of a game/TV show/book.

To quote a Marc Maron bit, "Eh... I don't know how much time I have left."