MUMBAI: From binge-worthy series to endless cooking reels, do you ever feel like you’re drowning in content? You're not alone. The streaming world is bursting at the seams, and while we enjoy the buffet of stories, filmmakers and streamers are battling what writer Prasoon Joshi aptly calls ‘Content Indigestion’. As billions of choices flood our screens, are we losing the ability to truly savour what we watch?
India's content landscape is nothing short of a digital deluge.
With 523 million broadband users, the average Indian spends seven to eight hours a day glued to their screens. Add to this 900 TV channels, 1,600 films annually, and over 60 streaming apps, and you’ve got a recipe for content overload. Did we mention that YouTube alone uploads 500 hours of video every minute?
That’s more content than a goldfish’s attention span can handle. (Yes, a goldfish has a 9-second attention span, while ours is apparently a pitiful 8 seconds.)
The internet was supposed to be our great democratiser. It turned every kitchen into a cooking show and every mimic into a global star.
But here’s the kicker: when everyone’s creating, who’s watching? The line between creators and audiences has blurred, leaving platforms like Google and Meta to call the shots. Forget reruns and classics; today, content that doesn’t trend is as good as forgotten.
Remember when stardom lasted decades? Now it barely survives the weekend. In a market saturated with choices, even the best content struggles to make a mark. Filmmakers are baffled, streamers are desperate, and the rest of us are just trying to remember the plot of the show we binged last night.
What does this mean for the business of content? Rising expectations have pushed production costs up by 200 per cent to 400 per cent, forcing platforms to adopt TV-like ad tiers and sports programming to stay relevant.
Can filmmakers and streamers find the cure for Content Indigestion?
Writer and adman Prasoon Joshi hopes that this chaos will eventually churn out some nectar. As creators and platforms grapple with this overwhelming buffet, is there light at the end of the screen? Perhaps it’s time to ask ourselves: Do we really need more content, or do we need better content?
Yes, we’re drowning in content. Yes, our attention spans are dwindling. But maybe, just maybe, this chaotic phase will help us discover stories that truly resonate. Until then, keep scrolling, binge-watching, and questioning if you’re part of the problem.
