Apparently people have a natural tendency to "actually be productive" and it's baffling to me.

I was having a discussion on Tumblr about the concept of universal basic income. And apparently, long story short, it's worked in the past. Because when people have the ability to choose between "slack off all day every day, maybe play some videogames, watch Netflix, be on Tumblr, whatever" and "actually do something like try to get a job or get into art or actually study"... most people choose the latter.

I... don't get it. Seriously, I don't. Like, I'm in a privileged position where my parents get to take care of 99% of my needs, I only need to do minimal studying to get good grades, and so my default setting is "go to class, come back, be on Tumblr and Youtube the rest of the day, go to sleep, rinse, repeat". I basically only study when my mom tells me I need to because I have an exam coming. I can't even imagine getting a job if my livelihood did depend on it, much less if I had a choice to do nothing. I do feel a drive to be "productive", in a sense, but that has more to do with "being up to date with all the things" than with a desire to actually do something. (Oh, and also, if it wasn't for the fact that someone comes to clean up the house 3 times a week my mom and I would be unbelievably stressed out by our combined lack of keeping things tidy)

That's what I imagine anyone would do if they were in my position, right? Like, I feel like I'd be a poster child for anyone who wanted to oppose stuff like basic income.

 

I think I remember it coming up before that you might be depressed? Which tends to kill any desire to be productive, so that could be doing it.

I don't know how old you are, but it might be because you're young, too. I have no evidence to back this up, but in my experience, teenagers and young adults tend to have less drive than adults (possibly because they're too busy trying to figure out who they are and where they stand). That's personal experience, too -- I was perfectly happy to spend all my time watching TV, or reading, or playing video games, until a couple of years ago when I started feeling more like I wanted to do something with my life. Now, if I don't get something productive done before I go to bed, I feel awful.

Or, you could just have no drive to produce or be productive. It happens, and in an ideal world it wouldn't matter.

As far as universal basic income goes, people who don't want to work at all shouldn't have much of an effect on it, from what I've read -- but I'm not super educated on the matter, so I'll leave that to someone who knows more than me

 

@oph It has been suggested to me based on a post I made in General Advice (where I basically tell my whole life story so feel free to ignore the huge-ass post). I'm 21, so... My parents basically say that it's okay if I don't have a job as long as I'm studying instead. But I'm not studying, either... except for when my mom tells me I need to study because of an exam. Even then I kind of half-ass it.
How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?

...And, I mean, it would have an effect if enough people are lazy like me... because then nothing would ever get done. Or, well, some things would get done, but not nearly enough to actually sustain the economy.

 

well a drive to "be up to date" with things might not be productive... it's curative. And that's important too. Consider: If everyone constantly wrote bestselling novels... we wouldn't have anyone left with the time to read them and voice opinions on them. Have you considered trying to just casually write summaries of all the things you keep up to date on? Either as a "week in review" thing or a semi-serious critic way?
(I realize I might have misunderstood and you don't actually want opinions here)

 

The problem is I'm not even the kind of person who comments on stuff! I probably watch 10-20 Youtube videos a day. I maaayyy comment on one or two of these if I have something to say, which is not very often.
I've thought about trying to be "productive" in that sense and it turns out I just forget to comment, or don't know what to say, or something. So I end up just not doing it.

(Also, don't worry, opinions are always welcome. But I have an awful tendency to just knock them down like how I just did and I didn't even realize I was doing that and I'm really sorry :/ )

 

I don't comment on all the yt videos I watch either! I meant more like... sharing your subscription feed in a way that is kinda like recommendations? On a blog or similar. A little like the NYT's recommended novel lists but for youtube.
"This week's episodes of [LPer's] new series on [Game] has been pretty good. Let's see how well they can keep up the enthusiasm!"
"[X]'s Witcher 3 Series really has digressed a little too much for me recently. Maybe they can pick up some momentum again soon?"

 

I'm 29. And yeah, at 21 I did basically nothing, mostly because there wasn't anything I wanted to do.

That's the thing, though, is that most people aren't lazy.

 

I... never thought of that!
...though I don't watch very many people, I just watch a few people pretty closely. But I mean I could... try? I don't know who I could say it to, though.
...Though I do tend to seriously overestimate how closely fans keep up with their LPers, so it might just work.

(Btw, the ones I follow are people like Chuggaaconroy and TheRunawayGuys)

I know. That fact completely baffled me, and that's why I made this post.

 

It really doesn't have to be too many subscriptions you write these summaries for probably! At least not in the beginning. And I'd suggest either tumblr if you want a more casual microblogging format (though it is infuriating and terrible) or a proper blogspot/similar thing. In both cases you likely have to plug the blog quite a bit to build brand recognition/readership.
Another option would of course be youtube videos themselves if you are comfy with that, sticking to the same platform seems like a ecently sensible idea.

 

Tumblr seems okay, but like... uhh, I wouldn't even know how to start. I'll keep it in mind, maybe later.
You know, I have done one thing semi-related to that: based on a prompt from a friend, I started liveblogging a blind LP of Danganronpa, a game I've never played before either (Superjeenius, really recommend the guy).
Turns out I like writing the liveblogs... but the only one who reads them is that friend. I mean, I'm still happy to do them, but like... I don't know if it'll get anywhere after his LP ends.

 

ohhhh that sounds interesting! and I mean... building up a readership can be difficult! But I'm sure there is people here who know social media engineering (I think that's what it's called? The knowledge of how to take advantage of search-algorhythms, psychological techniques to reach maximum exposure, how viral content is created, that kinda stuff) better than me and are willing to help you

 

Nah, that would make it feel kinda cheap. If people don't want to read it they just don't want to read it.
I'm just gonna finish up that game and see if I want to do another one.

 

well it's not any more cheating than normal advertising is cheating really. If you wanna look at it from the other side: It's hard to read something you'd normally be really interested in if you don't know it exists you know?
But it's ultimately your decision of course! I'm just glad I could suggets something that might be fun and interesting for you :)

 

if you'll link the thing here, i bet people'll read it. i probably would.

 

I'd just like to say: SAME. I feel bad and broken, honestly, because I don't do anything and can't motivate myself at all. I don't have any advice to offer at all, but I guess I'm just letting you know that I totally understand what it's like.

 

Really?
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/letsplayliveblogs/
Here goes.

 

I have some little sparkles of hope to share on this one! Before my meds got straightened out, I was in the same boat. All my energy and drive was eaten up taking care of my basic needs. Like eating. But, after I saw my psych and we got my meds worked out, I've had that whole drive thing! It's a lot easier to do things like a few chores, and not feel like I'm gonna die afterwards, or sleep for a week. I haven't magically turned into a Perfectly Productive Citizen, but it's easier to do things that are productive, and not just self maintenance. I'm also turning 30 this month, so age may have a factor.

 

For what it's worth, I'm 24 and I definitely have more drive to do things than I did at 21. I am a sprinter-type more than a marathoner-type, so I haven't acquired a magical wanting to do chores every day, but I get these spikes of "that is a thing that needs doing, I could do that" more often than I did a few years ago.

 

Thing is: ordinarily, people who have jobs or are in college or whatever will talk up a storm about how much they wish they were at home in their underwear watching Netflix all day (I know I say that all the time) but they find that actually doing that gets... kinda shitty, after a while? Most people (I know it's not always the case, and even when it is it's a lot easier said than done) actually gain energy from feeling like their time is being meaningfully used. I do think that if I could support myself without the job I'm currently at, I would, because it's a boring office job with long hours. But in practice, the sense of structure it gives my life is very healthy for me, and I know that because when we went on strike for 4 months last year and that contributed to getting me into a pretty bad depressive rut, and it seemed like the way to fix that was to do less and less, but that's not self-preservation, it's a downward spiral. As it turns out, pushing myself just a little bit (like "yeah, yeah, you're depressed, but you're gonna be depressed standing up, freshly showered and with shoes on, you're gonna be depressed on the bus on your way to work, you're gonna be depressed at the supermarket buying groceries") really helped, and that in turn is an upwards spiral - and it makes moments in which I do get to watch Netflix in my underwear feel a ton better because my time seems more meaningful. So in more recent months I've learned to actually structure my time like that even when I'm on holidays or during the weekend or days off - not something about productivity for its own sake, but rather for the sake of my organization and wellbeing.

 

I just wanna say I feel you. Like, I can get bored with having nothing to do when I do literally nothing all summer, but usually my solution to that is find new video games to play. My sister talks about how she gets antsy and feels like she needs to do some sort of work after a few days to a week of not working or being in school, I can get that antsy feeling after.... 2-3 months? of not doing anything.

and like. it doesn't feel depression-like because i'm generally happy, I enjoy having a life of watching youtube videos and browsing tumblr and playing a few games, with rp and friend convos on the side, and maybe hanging out with friends once a week or so. It's really relieving to not have responsibilities tbh, summer break and having parents that dont pressure me to get work is amazing and I definitely have feelings of wishing I could be a couch bum forever. My feeling of need to be productive is so weak that I could easily see myself working a really minor part time job forever. I really don't feel the need to climb any career ladder and /succeed/ at all. everything i've heard about getting into the Big Deal jobs of any career field sounds pretty unpleasant tbh.

so yeah. i feel you. the fact that people feel the need to have work if they could survive without it astounds me