Why Does This Blog Make Me a Tad Evil?

Did my blog title catch your attention? Maybe pique your curiosity? Honestly, that was my intention. If I had a bland title like, "Information About Well-Being," you'd be less likely to read it. So, it's incumbent upon me to come up with something playful or intriguing.

I know, I know... that's a little underhanded of me. I don't want to be manipulative. I just want you to read my blog. But if I don't come up with a compelling title and description, you just might not. What's the point of me writing these blogs if no one reads them? To borrow from my favorite show, Game of Thrones, "When you play the game of thrones, you either win or you die. There is no middle ground." Okay, so that's a bit extreme, but I think you catch my drift. I have to play this game (at least a little) or my work is in vain. 

Why Do I Want You to Read This? 

I'm totally breaking the "fourth wall" in this blog, but I need to do so for transparency. I want to have an honest conversation with you about this because I think it's important. Now, just why do I want you to read this blog? Well, it's not for the money I get from writing these, I can tell you that! While I do get paid a little bit from the readership, it comes out to much less than minimum wage. So, "income generation through Psychology Today blogs" is not the answer. 

Perhaps I'm writing these blogs so that I will sell more of my book, Tech Generation: Raising Balanced Kids in a Hyper-Connected World? Oh, jeez. Was that a shameless plug? While I certainly view selling books as a fringe benefit, writing a book is a horrible way to generate income. The typical full-time author makes below minimum wage.

Certainly, those authors who write national bestsellers can fair pretty well financially, but they are few and far between. It's much like trying to be a successful musician. For every Taylor Swift or Imagine Dragons, there are thousands of musicians who work for peanuts (or booze). For every J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, and Brene Brown, there are tens of thousands of authors and books that never gain visibility or turn a profit. In terms of the financial opportunity cost (e.g., me seeing more therapy clients), writing is a terrible investment of time and energy for me. I might as well buy lottery tickets!

How about this: I'm writing (and have a YouTube channel) because I hope that I will get media interviews, which could lead to paying presentation gigs. Honestly, that is one motivation of mine. I love presenting, and I welcome these opportunities. Still, trying to earn enough money from paid presentations is a longshot. It's similar to making money as an author. Financially, I can tell you that I'm still much better off seeing more therapy clients than writing or presenting. 

I'm not saying that I have no ulterior motives, but I ultimately hope that people find what I write useful, inspiring, and entertaining. Perhaps if I get enough people to read what I write (or present), I will feel like I've made a positive impact. I would like to...wait for it...make the world a better place. There it is. I know it's cliche, but that's my main goal. Since my blogs are generally about gaining greater personal growth and life satisfaction, it's not so bad that I intentionally use alluring and compelling titles to get a larger readership, right? 

Here's the Problem

One of my favorite sayings is, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." That saying captures the essence of this blog. The problem is this: I am just one of millions of people (and companies) vying for your attention. We are in an attention economy these days. I, along with just about everyone else, wants you to pay in your currency of attention. Consider just some of the countless people who are generating content who want your attention:

• The musician who is posting his original music to Spotify
• The journalist writing news articles
• The photographer posting pictures on Instagram
• The teens posting amusing videos on YouTube 
• Tweeting news and information to followers
• Posting travel pictures on Facebook

Attention is a limited resource though. There are only so many hours in the day, and a limited number of items to which we can give our attention. We are all competing with one another. Just as I try to create a compelling title (coupled with FABULOUS content), so is everyone else. We are in an attention arms race with one another for YOUR eyes! 

What Are You Not Doing?

The artist who works on her painting and shares it on Instagram is no different from me. She likes what she does and hopes others will as well. Although she hopes to sell her paintings, there is nothing nefarious about that. The problem is one of aggregate effects. I don't see all of the others competing for your attention. I sort of wash my hands of that (well, this blog is my attempt to call myself out on my behavior). For the most part, I just try to write an interesting blog, give it a good title, and how to reach as many readers as I can. 

In general, when we create content, we put the responsibility squarely on OTHERS to manage their screen time and set limits. But then here I am trying to generate compelling titles like Is Fortnite Ruining Your Kid? (my second most popular blog) so that you'll read my stuff! Ah, I have to say that all of this puts me in a state of cognitive dissonance. 

The problem isn't with the content itself (for the most part). It's just that accessing this content, which includes reading this blog, takes your attention away from other people and activities that might be more need-satisfying. So, instead of taking a walk, going to have lunch with a friend, painting, or sleeping, you might find yourself clicking or scrolling on your screen. The content that you access might be fine - even beneficial. But somewhere along the line, need-satisfying activities start to get squeezed out.

What to Do About It?  

There's not an easy solution to this challenge for sure. We simply did not evolve in a world in which so many people were able to seek our attention (especially using compelling gadgets). It's as if we are in this huge group of people with many folks, continuously shouting variations of, "Hey, you! Yes, you! Look over here! You gotta see this!" We can't help ourselves from turning our heads.

Change always starts with ourselves. We can only control our own consciousness and behavior. What can I do? One, I won't produce too much content. I think of entrepreneur, presenter, and internet personality Gary Vaynerchuck and his bestseller, Crush It! My takeaway on reading that book is this: Crushing it takes too much work for my taste. I just want to Dent It. 

Also, I will try not to consume too much content myself. I have a wife and three kids who need me! If I don't set limits, then it is very easy to overdo it.

Finally, I will try not to be too "tricksy" with my blog titles. For my next one, I think I'm going to cover a related topic - why clickbait works. Now, let's see if I can come up with a catchy title for that one... DOH!