Books and articles that educate us are content. Movies that entertain us are content. Art that moves our soul is content.
Then why has a lot of modern content become a problem, especially on social media? Because much of it is created not with the aim to share knowledge, but to harvest clicks. By posting provocative stuff, making comical TikToks, or retaliating against someone we disagree with. (The more controversial, silly, or vehement the content, the more clicks it gets.)
This may feed our hunger for drama, but at what price? Apart from getting us addicted to social media, messing up our mental health, and proliferating fake news, it will impair our ability to understand things.
Understanding requires depth. Imagine what would happen if scientific research just scraped the surface before jumping to another topic. Not only would it limit our knowledge of how things work, it would also cause more damage. There’s a reason behind the saying, “A little knowledge is dangerous.”
Don’t chase drama or clicks; pursue understanding. Would you rather be known as an “intellectual commentator,” or as someone whose work made a positive impact in others’ lives?