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This aligns pretty well with McLuhan's concept of cool and hot media [0]. The younger generations prefer it cool - perhaps their hotness is found in newer forms

This aligns pretty well with McLuhan's concept of cool and hot media [0]. The younger generations prefer it cool - perhaps their hotness is found in newer forms like video games. [0] https://mediawiki.middlebury.edu/MIDDMedia/Hot_versus_cool_media https://mediawiki.middlebury.edu/MIDDMedia/Hot_versus_cool_m...

nopenopenopeno 4y ago
Underrated comment. These are such critical concepts and really the way we should all be discussing out media consumption.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
sph 4y ago
This is an insightful observation but also feels incomplete and outdated. They use hot and cold to distinguish between "one sense" and "all senses", for some reason, which doesn't quite match modern media. But I definitely agree that there is something to it, and video games occupy a different niche of entertainment than movies for me. Video games are a pastime and a hobby, movies and shows are not unlike books: I don't want to miss a single piece of the action. When I have dinner I watch something off Youtube. Movie time is after dinner when I can give my full attention to it.
code_biologist 4y ago
For context, I'm in my mid-30s and grew up playing video games. When doing chores I listen to podcasts or audio books. I really like to think of media consumption in terms of attentional pressure. How long can you not pay attention without "missing something". For movies and TV shows it seems like 15 seconds, plus or minus depending on the content itself. Chatty podcasts give you 30 seconds or a minute. I enjoy the fast video games I play (shoutout to Deep Rock Galactic, killer PVE FPS with a non-toxic player base!) because they modulate their attentional pressure and ratchet it up intensely at moments. It feels great to handle a situation where even a subsecond lapse in attention would result in failure. From wikipedia: Cool media are those that require high participation from users, due to their low definition (the receiver/user must fill in missing information). Since many senses may be used, they foster involvement. Conversely, hot media are low in audience participation due to their high resolution or definition. Seems like it's hard to place fast video games? You don't have to fill in much of anything (hot) but they require full participation (cool).
- fhsm 4y ago
  One of the things I love about podcasts is the ability to titrate the playback speed multiplier as a means of selecting a context appropriate window of permissible inattention. Sitting in an airline seat 3x… driving to an unfamiliar urban destination 1.25x.

nopenopenopeno 4y ago

Underrated comment. These are such critical concepts and really the way we should all be discussing out media consumption.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

sph 4y ago

This is an insightful observation but also feels incomplete and outdated. They use hot and cold to distinguish between "one sense" and "all senses", for some reason, which doesn't quite match modern media. But I definitely agree that there is something to it, and video games occupy a different niche of entertainment than movies for me. Video games are a pastime and a hobby, movies and shows are not unlike books: I don't want to miss a single piece of the action. When I have dinner I watch something off Youtube. Movie time is after dinner when I can give my full attention to it.

code_biologist 4y ago

For context, I'm in my mid-30s and grew up playing video games. When doing chores I listen to podcasts or audio books. I really like to think of media consumption in terms of attentional pressure. How long can you not pay attention without "missing something". For movies and TV shows it seems like 15 seconds, plus or minus depending on the content itself. Chatty podcasts give you 30 seconds or a minute. I enjoy the fast video games I play (shoutout to Deep Rock Galactic, killer PVE FPS with a non-toxic player base!) because they modulate their attentional pressure and ratchet it up intensely at moments. It feels great to handle a situation where even a subsecond lapse in attention would result in failure. From wikipedia: Cool media are those that require high participation from users, due to their low definition (the receiver/user must fill in missing information). Since many senses may be used, they foster involvement. Conversely, hot media are low in audience participation due to their high resolution or definition. Seems like it's hard to place fast video games? You don't have to fill in much of anything (hot) but they require full participation (cool).

fhsm 4y ago
One of the things I love about podcasts is the ability to titrate the playback speed multiplier as a means of selecting a context appropriate window of permissible inattention. Sitting in an airline seat 3x… driving to an unfamiliar urban destination 1.25x.