Matthew Glenn is Reckoning With His Backlog Outliving Him | Winter Spectacular 2021
Nothing is more paralyzing than unlimited choice. As entertainment has become a sea of infinite content, every suggestion from a friend, recommendation on a podcast, sequel to a series, just more content spills into our backlogs. But while the content is infinite, your time isn’t. As that bucket list overflows, a question creeps up. Even if you had the time, would it even be worth it?
Everyone: Hey Mathew, you should really play Ocarina of Time
Mathew:
Gauging enjoyment of any hobby by how much of it you’ve consumed is a recipe for failure. No one can watch every movie, just as no one can play every video game. The harsh reality of all human experiences is that everyone leaves something unfinished and incomplete.
Tying fulfilment and happiness to consumption commodifies both. Selling enjoyment of one game or movie isn’t enough, instead, we subscribe to recurring entertainment from franchises and series. That pursuit of experiencing everything is derived from a fear of missing out. Feeling excluded from a conversation, failing to understand some past context or just not getting a meme that appeared on your timeline. There’s a life outside of consuming and there’s a world outside of hot takes. Even if the experience of critique and conversation is what brings you value and fulfilment, being selective about those things invites more targeted and thoughtful critique.
No one operates with complete knowledge. When your own personal experience is lacking, listening, watching and asking questions is an entirely valid form of participation. And instead of speaking without insight, citing others who have dedicated the time to those experiences is the healthiest way to prioritize your own time.
What if instead of playing every must play classic, we just spent the night playing dress-up together with our space wizards/cowboys/big lads?
Awareness of your time and priorities is necessary to complete any large project. A backlog can be completable if you shift your goal from completion to personal satisfaction. Prioritize enjoyment outside of serialized context. Identify things you love or are worth your time and dive into them, but not to keep up on someone else’s conversation. You could try to play every PS2 game ever released or you could be aware of a multiplayer game your friends are playing and make time for social experiences with them. Those opportunities won’t be around forever as your relationships with your friends, their time and schedules, and the state of a multiplayer experience will change. Find peace in hearing that something was great or watching someone else play it on Youtube or Twitch. Finally, discredit your own FOMO by accepting you’re not going to get to experience everything.
Good news! I think I have a solution for our “limited time” problem.
Arcade Fire’s divisive 2017 album, Everything Now, muses on how access to all information decontextualizes and devalues every experience. Quantity degrading quality. In an era of infinite content, you are always missing out. There is no catching up and there is no completion. There’s just more of everything all at once. You won’t just miss out on some things, but most things are missed out on. Something will always be left unfinished, but all life plans are made without assurance of completion. So here's a conflicting but complementary final suggestion. Why not lie to ourselves and say ‘I’ll get to it.’ Play with possibility, on your own terms. And why not enjoy that escapism, when the ending’s the same for everyone?
