The Ultimate Tech Irony?
In what might be the most ironic tech headline of the year, a CEO whose business model relies on digital creators is telling us to do the unthinkable: put down our phones. Patreon CEO Jack Conte wants you to get off of your phone, and his message is sounding an alarm. For anyone whose screen time is creeping up, it’s a warning that hits uncomfortably close to home.
Let’s be honest: the irony is delicious. A man at the helm of a major Silicon Valley platform, a hub for the burgeoning creator economy, is advocating for digital disconnection. It’s like a coffee shop owner telling you to cut back on caffeine. But once you get past the paradox, Conte’s argument is not just compelling—it’s critically important, especially for the creators his platform serves.
The War Between Consumption and Creation
Conte’s core thesis is simple: our smartphones, with their endless feeds and relentless notifications, are masters of distraction. They are engineered for consumption, not creation. Think about it. When was the last time you had a truly original idea while doomscrolling through Instagram or getting lost in an endless video feed?
The Patreon CEO argues that deep, meaningful creative work—the kind that produces a great song, a compelling novel, or a groundbreaking podcast—requires uninterrupted focus. It demands boredom. It needs empty space for ideas to collide and spark. Our phones, however, are designed to fill every single one of those empty spaces. Every moment of waiting in line, every quiet minute before sleeping, is instantly filled with the digital glow of a screen.
A Critical Message for the Creator Economy
For the new generation of creators, this is a particularly potent warning. We are seeing a global explosion of talent and stories waiting to be told. But there’s a danger in confusing online activity with actual productivity. Chasing viral trends and optimising for the algorithm can easily replace the hard, often lonely, work of honing a craft.
Conte’s message isn’t a Luddite’s call to smash our devices. He’s a tech CEO, after all. Instead, it’s a plea for intentionality. It’s about reclaiming our time and attention from the digital slot machines in our pockets. He advocates for carving out sacred, phone-free time to read a book, practice an instrument, take a long walk, or simply sit and think.
Embracing the Joy of Missing Out (JOMO)
This philosophy represents a shift from the pervasive FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) that keeps us tethered to our feeds, towards a more liberating JOMO (Joy of Missing Out). It’s the joy of missing out on a few dozen memes to finally finish that chapter, or ignoring a trending controversy to have an uninterrupted dinner with family.
Ultimately, Jack Conte’s advice is a challenge to both creators and consumers. For creators, it’s a reminder that their best work will happen when they log off. For the rest of us, it’s a question of what we are sacrificing at the altar of the infinite scroll.
The next great novel won’t be written in 280 characters, and the next soul-stirring melody won’t be composed while swiping through short-form videos. It will be born in the quiet, focused, and increasingly rare moments of disconnection. Jack Conte’s advice might seem counterintuitive, but perhaps in our hyper-connected world, the most revolutionary act is to simply look up.
