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1/3/2015 The Unending Anxiety of an ICYMI World - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/style/the-unending-anxiety-of-an-icymi-world.html?&hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth®ion= 1/4
http://nyti.ms/1xnMGqG
STYLE
The Unending Anxiety of an ICYMI WorldJAN. 2, 2015
FutureTense
By TEDDY WAYNE
Incaseyoumissedit,theinitialsICYMIstandforthefirstfivewordsofthis
sentence.Intheeventyouhave,indeed,missedit(ITEYH,I,MIhasnot
takenoffyetforsomereason),itsmostlikelybecauseyourenotonthe
Internetmuch,particularlyTwitter,whereindividualsandoutletsdeployit
everyfewsecondstobringlinkstotheattentionofotherswhomaynot
haveseenthem.TheNewYorkTimesnowevenhasasectionatthebottom
ofitsappcalledInCaseYouMissedItwitharticlesfrompreviousdays.
Whiletheextendedphrasehasbeenusedinconversationforalong
time,theshorthandbetraysananxietycentraltotheInternetepoch.There
issimplytoomuchreadable,viewableandlistenabledataforanyonetostay
abreastof,asahumorpiece,ImAllCaughtUp!byNickMickowskiin
McSweeneys,playfullysuggested.
Ididit!Imcaughtup!Mr.Mickowskiwrote.Iexperiencedevery
show,movie,webisode,album,book,webcomic,podcast,videogame,
Twitterfeed,Tumblr,Instagram,RedditAMAandopedyouguyswere
tellingmeIhadtocheckout.NowwecantalkaboutthemandIwontfeel
likesuchanoutcastwhenwehangout.
Weusedtoreceivemediacyclically.Newspaperswerepublishedonce
(orsometimestwice)aday,magazinesweeklyormonthly.Nightlynews
wasbroadcast,well,eachnight.Televisionprogramswerebroadcastonone
ofthemajornetworksonenightaweekataspecifictime,nevertoreturn
untilarerunorsyndication.Movieswereshownfirstintheatersandon
http://www.nytimes.com/http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/im-all-caught-uphttp://www.nytimes.com/pages/style/index.htmlhttps://twitter.com/search?f=realtime&q=icymi&src=typdhttp://nyti.ms/1xnMGqG
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1/3/2015 The Unending Anxiety of an ICYMI World - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/style/the-unending-anxiety-of-an-icymi-world.html?&hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth®ion= 2/4
videomuchlater(or,beforetheadventofVCRs,notuntilarevival).There
werenotmanyinterstices,justdiscreteunitsandasmallernumberof
them.
Nowwereinthemidstofthestreamingera,whenthenewsindustry
distributesmaterialona24hourcycle,entireseasonsofTVshowsare
dumpedonviewersinstantaneously,mostmoviesareavailableatanytime
andtheflowoftheInternetandsocialmediaisceaseless.Wearenearlyall
interstitialspace,withcomparativelyfewsingularities.
Thecumulativeeffectisoverwhelmingforbothproducersofcontent
anditsconsumers.Thosewhoputoutwork,understandably,wanttomake
sureitsnotlostonwhateversiteishostingit,letaloneinthesocialmedia
blizzardofmustreadlinks,oneoffjokesandotherselfpromotion.When
thehomepageofawebsiterefresheseverycoupleofhours(orminutes),
therearentalotofconspicuouswaystoshowcaseoldermaterialexcept
throughthereferralsofTwitter,Facebookandthelike.
Yetitisthiseternalretrievabilityofanythingonlinethatpanicsus.
ElizabethMinkel,whohasamastersdegreeindigitalhumanitiesfrom
UniversityCollegeLondon,wroteanarticleforTheNewStatesmanin
whichshearguedthatICYMImakesstayingconnectedfeellikeaconstant
gameofcatchup,likefindingthingsataslowerpacewarrantssomekindof
disclaimer.
Ifitssomeoneelseswork,whydoyouneedtosayICYMIor
apologizebysaying,Sorry,thisisold?sheaskedinaninterview.Youre
rewardedforbeingfirst,notforbeingthemostexcitedaboutsomething.
(Ms.MinkelpointedoutthatpostsonTumblrhavefarlongershelflives
thanthosefromothersocialmedia.)
PreInternet,weacceptedthatmediahadamayflyslifespan:
Yesterdaysnewswasyesterdaysnews,andthatwasit.Ifyouwerethe
creatorofit,youmadepeacewiththenotionthatpeopleeithersawitor
didntwhenitappeared,andyoumovedon;therewasnoalternative.
Ifitlingeredinthepublicconsciousness,itwasbecauseofits
durability,notrepeatedreminders.Contenthadfiniteendingsanddeaths,
notasymptoticapproachesandlongtermvegetativestatesfromwhich
resuscitationisalwaysanoption.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/04/fashion/online-binge-media-culture-finds-a-receptive-audience-in-americans.htmlhttp://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/05/icymi-internet-has-ruined-our-conception-time
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1/3/2015 The Unending Anxiety of an ICYMI World - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/style/the-unending-anxiety-of-an-icymi-world.html?&hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth®ion= 3/4
Consumershadtomakesimilarbargains:Ifyouwentoutona
Thursdaynightduringthe1990s,youmissedNBCsMustSeeTV
schedule(unlessyoutapedit)andunderstoodthatitwouldbeawhile
beforeyoucouldseeitagain.(Ithelped,too,thattherewaslessmedia
competitioninpreviousdecadesand,inthecaseofTV,thatdramaticseries
weregenerallylesscomplex,sothatmissinganepisodeofDynastymight
notsetyoubackasfarasskippingoneofBreakingBad.)
Now,withjustabouteveryairingofamuchgreaternumberofshows
obtainableatanymoment,thereisnoexcuseformissingoneand,
therefore,amoreurgentcompulsiontocatchup,incaseyoumissedit.
Today,boththeoutletsandtheindividualswhoareresponsibleforthe
workareawarethattheyhavealimitedwindowinwhichtheircontentcan
goviralandoutliveitsshortstayonahomepage.Whenitfailstodoso,as,
bydefinition,almosteverythingmust,itmayseemtothemlikea
dishearteningscreenageZenkoan:Ifanarticleaboutdeforestationis
publishedbutnooneclicksonit,diditactuallyexist?
HenceICYMI.Inanearliertime,thefullverbalformulationmeantthat
therecipientwassupposedtoseesomethingofacertaindegreeof
importance(anote,anemail),andthesenderwasgentlyremindingyouof
itsoversight.
Now,theveryshorteningofthephraseisabyproductand
acknowledgmentofthevelocityofinformationagainstwhichitsattached
linkisracing.Theimplicationisthatyouprobablyhavenotseenit,andits
notnecessarytoyourexistence,butthesenderwouldliketobringittoyour
attentionanyway,please.Itservesasacallofdesperationasmuchasan
announcement:Canyouhearmywhisperinthesehowlingwinds?Infact,
ICYMIisoftenusedasthesecondorthirdattempttolinktosomething
(whichsuggeststhecontentisnottakingofforganically)asameansof
excusingtherepetitivepromotion.
EventheTwitteraccountforPresidentObama,oneofthefewpeople
whocanassumethathisactionsarenevermissedbytheworld,
occasionallyusesICYMI,especiallytohighlightachievementstheWhite
Housemaythinkareundervaluedbythepublic,suchasjobgrowthandthe
AffordableCareAct.
https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/534807212061753344https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/541363067863707648http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/22/books/review/22KIRNL.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
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1/3/2015 The Unending Anxiety of an ICYMI World - NYTimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/style/the-unending-anxiety-of-an-icymi-world.html?&hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth®ion= 4/4
ElissaStrauss,acolumnistforTheWeek.comandafreelancerfora
numberofotherWebpublications,saidthatafinancialincentivealso
drivesInternetcontentcreatorswhoposttheirworkmultipletimes(she
saidshetypicallytripletweetseachofherarticles).
Theresacorrelationbetweenyourincomeandhowmanyclicksyou
get,Ms.Strausssaid.Thisisntjustamememe,attentiongrabbing
thing.ItshowImakealiving.InthearenaoftheInternet,youhavetobe
loudandkeeptryingandraisingyourhand.
Giventhenearinfiniteaccessibilityofdigitalmedia,itsuggeststhat
whatWalterBenjamincalledtheunique,mysticalauraofanobjectofart
inhisseminal1936essay,TheWorkofArtintheAgeofMechanical
Reproduction,greatlydiminishedbythereproductivetechnologiesofhis
time,iscompletelyeradicatedbyours.
Liveperformancesmaybethelastplacetolocateanysenseofaura.
Mr.Benjaminsawvariousreasonsforoptimisminthediminutionofthe
aura.Reproduction,heposited,couldemancipateusfromcultlike
reverencetowardartandmakeuskeener,morepoliticizedcritics.But
nowadaysitspasstonotethat,duringliveevents,peopleareoftenstaring
intotheirreproductionfriendlyphones,perhapsaredirectedformofritual
obeisance.
Atleasttheycanprobablyfindavideoorphoto(maybeonetheyshot
themselves)ofwhattheywereatlater,incasetheymissedit.
TeddyWayneistheauthorofthenovelsTheLoveSongofJonnyValentineandKapitoil.FutureTenseappearsmonthly.
A version of this article appears in print on January 4, 2015, on page ST2 of the New York editionwith the headline: Lest Any Bit of Data Pass You by.
2015 The New York Times Company
http://theweek.com/http://www.nytimes.com/content/help/rights/copyright/copyright-notice.htmlhttp://teddywayne.com/http://www.elissastrauss.com/https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm