Surrealism and an ode to more friction in our social networks
Digital platforms have relentlessly pursued one goal: eliminating the need for contemplation, providing access to everything, all the time, with a single click.
Even asynchronous communication, a hallmark of the internet, is under siege. It’s as if waiting has become a forbidden act, evident in platforms like Instagram or other instant messaging apps, which now indicate when a user is in silent or “do not disturb” mode, signaling their inability to respond instantly.
This frenzy reaches a zenith: with time spent on smartphones unlikely to increase, the fear of missing out on information or notifications paradoxically intensifies.
FOMO: A Growing Fear of Missing Out that Crushes Creativity
The “Fear Of Missing Out,” a term coined by Patrick McGinnis at Harvard in 2004, has relentlessly surged. Instead of diminishing, citizens seem less equipped in terms of digital literacy and time management. The Michigan Daily even poses a poignant question about the youth: Is FOMO stealing your college experience? The period after high school, once synonymous with discovery, has now become a time of anxiety and immense pressure, leading to significant risk aversion.
French online magazine L’ADN recently shared a report which reveals a staggering 62% increase in antidepressant consumption among young people from 2014 to 2021 in France. During the same period, antipsychotic consumption rose by 48%. Terrifying.
Shorter Cycles, Narratives in Despair
Interestingly, the constant quest to keep up with trends has turned marketing strategies into fertile ground for a culture of ephemeral trends, where what was popular yesterday is obsolete today.
This paradox isn’t far from what we see in politics. Joe Biden’s team recently joined Truth Social, the social network for Donald Trump’s supporters.
As summarized by The New York Times: Biden, Trolling Trump, Joins Truth Social: ‘Converts Welcome’.
It’s doubtful that trolling for fun is a way to bring meaning back into politics.
The consequence of this FOMO and an increasingly urgent sense leads Scott Galloway to cleverly write, “we should worry about men who choose day trading and pornography over building, creating, and repairing.”
Building Against Ephemeral: A Rebellion, Anticipation, and Regaining Temporal Control
In 2021 in China, the “tang ping” movement, launched on Weibo (then censored), made headlines. To combat work overload and insane work speeds, netizens started posting photos of themselves simply lying on the ground. A way to resist not standing up, but lying down against a new normal that was no longer tolerable.
In a podcast by the American Psychological Association, Kate Sweeny, a psychology professor at the University of California, talks about the difference between waiting and worrying. She develops an counterintuitive argument: moments of worry can sometimes be very positive. Firstly, because they draw attention to oneself by mobilizing a network, and secondly, because often, imagining the worst-case scenario can prevent it from happening (think about wearing your seatbelt in a car, checking that the gas is turned off, etc.).
Rebellion, anticipation, taking back control of temporality. It’s about building against the ephemeral. Friction is a crucial element of the web’s original promise.
Creating a path to find information. Taking the time to watch a video load, promising entertaining or informative content. Hoping the connection holds to receive your file. Saving your hours of connection to allocate them to your preferred choices. But enough nostalgia, friction is already present through various virtuous initiatives:
Many entrepreneurial crowdfunding projects play with the necessary time for designing and delivering a product or service: it’s because you decide to enter this long process that the final result will have its full flavor.
Learning platforms play with unlocking levels, gradually. It’s in exchange for frequent effort that new stages become accessible. See this topic on the excellent Inside LVMH platform.
BeReal might not have exploded like other networks, but the idea of being able to post only one photo a day, and within a limited time frame to view photos from a small group of friends, challenged the logic of endless feeds, which we take for granted but is, in fact, a very political choice.
Is Surrealism the First Step to Reinventing Friction and Usage?
It’s often in the realm of creativity that the first murmurs of change, the questioning of the status quo, are heard.
D&AD, a British educational organization created in 1962 to promote excellence in design and advertising, released its 2023 trend report. Implicit in this report is the concept of “joyful surrealism,” challenging the apathy caused by FOMO and short cycles. And playing with humor balances the uncertainty of a turbulent world.
In the absence of being able to unplug iPhones, many creations focus on people’s desire for escapism by juxtaposing unexpected universes, bringing concepts that mix different temporalities and artistic trends. Taking back control of friction means first mixing what shouldn’t be mixed to arouse curiosity.