Why do you talk so fast

The options are endless. Documentaries, films, podcasts, books. Not to mention an endless stream of social media content.

Last family gathering, my boyfriend’s mother asked a niece ‘Why do you talk so fast?’ The niece was surprised. She hadn’t noticed the fast pace of her communication. After some thinking she said ‘Maybe it’s because of the way I watch series and listen to podcasts: always sped up.’

Her answer left me thinking. Why would you want to speed up a meticulously timed cinematic or auditive work? Why would you want to watch the carefully acted scenes of actors twice as fast? Is the amount of content that huge, so you need to consume it faster?

Later, I was reading a column of actress Sachli Gholamalizad in Elle Belgium. She reminisces about the old days, when there was less noise - in Dutch, the word is more specific ‘ruis’ - a kind of neverending noise of content asking for attention. It makes me want to shut down, Sachli writes. She notices she has the tendency of taking in less space, on social media, but also in her work. ‘Taking in less space feels maybe more safe than the risk of being judged publicly?’ she wonders. To which I asked myself: does all that noise we consume make us smaller, maybe even less likely to show ourselves?

For myself, I notice that I’m very picky in my content consumption. I cancelled my Netflix-subscription. If I watch something, I need it to contribute something: surprise me, inspire me, stir up an emotion, sometimes even scare me a bit, hehe. 20 minutes in and the film or series did not yet deliver? I stop and choose something else.

Research says you’re the result of the 5 persons you see most often. Then maybe we need to take a look at what we consume - how does it make you feel, does it fuel your inspiration or happiness, does it boost your confidence?

Q. How do you handle the massive influx of content of series, films, podcasts, streaming platforms? What do you allow in? What does it contribute?

Curious about what your tricks are, or how you select your stuff.

Write back,
Katrijn