I remember early in Covid when everything, every day was "setting a new record."
"Plano, TX set the record for most new infections. But New York City set the record for most deaths. But today, Sacramento set the record for largest per-capita increase over a 24 hour period. Meanwhile, Orlando set a new record for deaths for the age group 30-55."
It made absolutely no sense but it kept people glued to the screen. If a record is being shattered every day like yes I get things are going on, but maybe 'breaking the record' isn't the most valuable metric for understanding what's happening.
I remember early in Covid when everything, every day was "setting a new record."
"Plano, TX set the record for most new infections. But New York City set the record for most deaths. But today, Sacramento set the record for largest per-capita increase over a 24 hour period. Meanwhile, Orlando set a new record for deaths for the age group 30-55."
It made absolutely no sense but it kept people glued to the screen. If a record is being shattered every day like yes I get things are going on, but maybe 'breaking the record' isn't the most valuable metric for understanding what's happening.
Yeah competing for peoples attention in commercial media is a race to the bottom, and social media engagement algorithms accelerate the problem.