You aren't seeing the bigger picture

A narrow rectangle makes up our window, 3 inches wide and 6 inches tall. Rather than look to all that could be outside this slight frame, we have compressed our worlds to fit inside it... a reduced approximation.

The scope of our species great vision, now limited. Not by lack of knowledge or desire, but by the the demands of a product and profit of a companies algorithm.

We're just all so "locked-in", like a horse in blinders.

It's not as though we readily relinquished our wider views. For a long time there, if a video was "worth watching" or you were making "big purchase", you'd grab a computer. You valued the added screen space, the quality, the immersion, the added context and sense of security that overview gave you. You wanted to make sure you were getting the full picture.

We even used to lambast others for further restricting this view, the thought of using portrait for video a faux pas that ran contrary to the natural layout of our vision. Yet we have long since surrendered the added context and content that wider ratio gave us, preferring the ease of scrolling without rotating. Undoubtedly this has in part been foisted upon us, as some intern or suit realised we'd watch longer with a full screen, nothing to pull our eye away, nothing to interfere with the scroll watch repeat, no added movement required, no extra strain on an already frayed wrist, nothing to give you pause, to allow your brain to think.

Have you ever tried doomscroling on your computer for that matter?

Doesn't hit the same does it? It requires too much engagement, there are too many other stimuli keeping your focus broad, blocking out the hypnotists watch with secondary tabs, hands that don't need to grip glass, visible clocks, multitasking, actions that require active participation, a seating position that allows other things in a our vision between us and the screen, and an aspect ratio that doesn't force us in to a state of tunnel vision.

This layout isn't conducive to hypnosis, it breaks the spell to readily.

Now I'm not naïve, binge watching, 7 hour gaming sessions, and to an extent doomscrolling do all exist in this "widescreen" format (RIP Tumblr, you were manys first experience of this) But it is or was so much easier to break from, what's more two of those are clearly directed choices, with one of them requiring active participation that can reinforce hand eye coordination and lateral thinking (as opposed to degrade them) Those two aren't the passive consumption of an algorithms choices.

There may not be much thought required to chose a show to watch, but it is still a choice, what's more its a choice that comes with clear boundaries in the form of episode length. You aren't setting yourself in to this totally passive state, you're giving your brains structure, as opposed to just leaving all systems locked in to an endless undefined dopamine drip, the uncertainty of which keeps you scrolling for the next hit. Locked in to the narrow world there's no theme songs to act as incense clocks, subconsciously breaking up the pattern, no season ends on scrolling, no "are you still watching" reminders.

Christ we're 5 paragraphs in and i haven't even gotten on to how detrimental all this is to contemporary art outside of video. You can intuit that right? you don't need another 2-3 paragraphs of metaphor and wordplay to put the point across yeah? Like my average working digital canvas is 40 inches, up to 60 on the top end. You're phone cant really deliver that. Hell recently i bought a 55inch tv just to better check my work at scale, because even my computer monitor isn't really big enough.

Why are we just accepting and participating in this reduction of vision, in this restriction of scope.

It is 2025 and instagram still isn't giving you rotational screen options or 4k images, it is 2025 and twitters desktop feed is so narrow it may aswell be a mobile screen mirror, it is 2025 and youtube is full of portrait filmed 6 second videos.

It is 2025 and we see less than we did in 2015, because it is more profitable to keep those blinders on.

It's not your fault, not really, billions ride on keeping this going, too much choice gets in the way of that, but it is in your power to change it. Screen timers, directed choices, saying "if this is worth watching ill do it on a proper screen" is an amazing way to realise how little is actually "worth" watching.

Treat these online worlds as a place you travel to via machine portals, rather than keeping a blackhole constantly open in your pocket, ever pulling your hand towards it.