That which makes us want to consume media is called the pull.
1 Every media has a pull
We consume media every day. It is everywhere. It can be in the form of text, audio, image, animation, video, or game. When I look on my left side, I can see books about One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, and some novels about Harry Potter, Dune, and Earthsea. On my right side, I can see my collection of Pokémon and Zelda games, my Ghibli films, and my Marvel movies. Just beside me, I still have my old mp3 player and a few CDs on my music rack.
And if I turn on my computer, I can easily access all the physical things I have described above. I can watch my anime, tv shows, and movies on Netflix, read my books, comics, and manga on Kindle, and listen to my whole music collection on iTunes. We can also watch videos on YouTube and TikTok.
In your case, what do you prefer? Do you like to read manga more instead of books? Do you prefer to watch anime more than live-action movies? Which would you rather consume, the Lord of the Rings books, tv shows, or movies?
Imagine life without media. It would be boring.
When we are not working (and even for some people who are working), we most probably consume media in one form or another. If you are in the office, observe how many people are wearing headphones (or earphones). See? They are consuming music while at work. And if you look some more, you will see some people just browsing for news or watching videos online.
When we leave our work and return to our homes, we always look forward to consuming media. Should we watch Game of Thrones tonight? Should we play Elden Ring? How about that new Mario game? Or maybe just catch up on some Korean drama? Would you like to read instead a newly released novel or some web serial online?
Each of us has a preference for what kind of media we consume. But have you ever wondered what makes us choose one form of media over another? Or even within the same form, what makes us choose one title against another? Book or movie? The Matrix or Ghost in the Shell?
That feeling which makes us want to consume media is what we call the pull.
According to The Manifesto (1.2):
Every person consuming media feels a pull: the pull to begin watching a movie or a TV show, the pull to continue reading a book or listening to an album, and the pull to return to them after taking a break.
When deciding what media to consume, we are indirectly asking ourselves: which among these options creates the strongest pull? Which one makes me want to consume it the most right now?
Imagine: Let us say you are at home and just finished supper after working hard the whole day. You want to relax for the remaining three hours of your day. What would you do?
- You see the new book you bought earlier - it pulls you to begin reading it.
- You see your Nintendo Switch - it pulls you to return and complete Hollow Knight.
- You see your television - it pulls you to just continue watching The Blue Planet.
Which pull is the strongest? Which one should you do?
