As online users, we consume vast amounts of information.
However, for most people, that's where it stops.
They gained some information, knowledge, fun meme and it's done and dusted.
However, someone somewhere puts a lot of effort into putting the content out there for other people to enjoy.
You might think, well I hit the like button, why should I bother to interact more?
And for me, there are two main beneficial points to it.
Interact to gain/spread further knowledge
The first one is to gain/spread further knowledge.
You may have read a piece about React hooks, but you've always done it slightly differently.
You might consume the article and think ok, let me start doing it this way from now on.
But why not raise a comment to say why this method should be used instead of method X.
Even if that is mentioned in the article, the author would love to read you had been using method Y but will give method X a go.
And even further, you could come back to it, after implementing/testing it and show your findings.
That will not only show gratitude, but it might help bother people giving more feedback on your piece as well.
Besides this way of interacting, there is also a way of spreading further knowledge.
This basically means you can enhance content.
LEt's say I wrote an article about a JavaScript function, you might be the one to give a more in-depth comment about a part of it.
And no, that's not rude at all. It's a learning curve for everyone.
Not just you, and the author, but every reader after you as well.
Online content is an ever-growing ocean of information, and it should be wasted by being static and one-sided.
Interact to remember it
Another reason to interact with the content is to remember it better.
This means you will remember something longer if you interacted with the content.
The best of course if it's a hands-on-content to actually try it out. But even writing some thoughts on it will help you to remember it better.
For me, this works way better than just bookmarking something...
To be quite honest bookmarks often go to waste.
You end up bookmarking too many pieces of content and not actually ever looking at them.
While if you make a selection of good content you found and take your time to interact with it, it will keep with you.
You will remember a certain piece of content when needed.
The golden line
So for me, even as a content creator, interacting is the golden line between consuming and creating.
Creating content is not for all of us, especially not in every way possible.
Example: I'm not the right person to do in-depth video tutorials on certain topics.
But I can benefit greatly by interacting with this content. I'm trying it out, writing it down, making notes, and placing comments to raise questions or gratitude.
Example 2: I can't write a full e-book
Yet some people are super skilled at it, e-books for one are lengthy, they might spark questions.
Ask these questions!
It's also a learning curve for the author, who might think that piece of content is very clear, whilst you might have no clue what's going on.
This all is valuable information for every party involved: The golden line!
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Top comments (7)
A couple of weeks ago I learned about the Bennett Principle, which states that the value you receive from an activity is proportional to the energy invested. Creating content requires more energy, but it's value is greater than the energy used.
I would rather be creating. 😁
Oh cool, haven't heard that precise name, but the concept rings a bell.
And it makes sense!
Hi Amelia,
This is so cool to read.
And a nice showcase of how it helps two sides of the story.
Your head feeling lighter and knowledge being shared.
I do think it's also a long game with comments and consumption.
Interaction is not just useful but also fun, the discussions here on dev.to are often very entertaining!
Indeed! Great point, we should always try to make it fun for everyone.
Great points! The two that really stood out were the fact that a comment means much more than a “like” and the act of interacting helps you remember the information better. Everybody wins 😁
Indeed, not sure if that interacting remember point is personal, but for me it has always been that way.