Last week, I reread an interview author Emily Henry did, where she announced that she wouldn’t release a new novel this year. For non-Emily Henry-heads, she has consistently released a book every single year since “Beach Read” came out in 2020. I remember my reaction to her announcement as follows: “I can’t believe there won’t be a new Emily Henry book this year, what am I supposed to do?”
Genuinely, how greedy am I, that my favorite author taking a “break” is something to be annoyed, or even complain about? I have six books of hers to reread, something I have no problem doing. Yet, the prospect of no new content not only surprised me, but disappointed me. When reflecting on my initial reaction, all I have to say is: do I hear myself right now? How entitled I have become, and not to point fingers, but it’s not just me — it’s all of us.
How many times have you seen people spam their favorite musicians’ comment sections asking when the next single or album is? Take Chappell Roan for example, who rose to fame in 2024, fresh off her 2023 debut album, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.” Roan then released three singles in 16 months. In a interview with Vogue centered on the highly anticipated release of “The Subway,” the topic of her unreleased sophomore album is brought up. Roan created several headlines with her response: “The second project doesn’t exist yet…It took me five years to write the first one, and it’s probably going to take at least five to write the next.”
Last year, Roan was in her first full year of solidified celebrity status, and the only questions thought to ask her were: what more? What next? And when? I understand where the interviewer is coming from, as Roan was on a single run, which seemingly leads to an album. But why is that the expectation in the first place? Roan was providing her listeners with new music, on a consistent basis, and instead of accepting these singles for what they were, individual singles, she was urged to release a full body of work. Fourteen songs, instead of three.
I’m not saying it’s immoral to want new content from your favorite creators, whether that be in books, television shows or music. Believe me, I have been lamenting about the lack of a new Phoebe Bridgers solo project for at least two years now — I don’t think I have some sort of moral high ground here. But just think of why we all feel this way, how come none of us can just simply wait for anything. The consistent stream of new releases has made us rush creators and turned us ungrateful. If one artist is pumping out album after album while another takes years between projects, people jump to hound the “slower” artist. But just because one creator is more constant, doesn’t make the projects any better.
As a society, we are so accustomed to instant gratification. No matter what I’m doing, or where I am, I can find content to consume. If I don’t like the first TikTok I see, good news, there is seemingly an endless amount I can scroll through. Not to sound like someone’s dad, but there used to be a waiting period to access things. You had to wait for computers to boot up, there was no “Skip Intro” option on the show you were watching. And that instant accessibility has harmed us in ways; we are entitled to the immediate content we consume. If a phone lags for three seconds, we complain about the service. You used to have to own physical copies of everything, but now I can find a free PDF of an Emily Henry book in one Google search or find any (released or unreleased) Chappell Roan song on multiple platforms, and yet, we still aren’t satisfied. Since we can consume any content whenever we wish, it loses its novelty rather quickly; it makes us crave new material faster than we used to. I don’t think we’re inherently the problem; we’ve just been made into one. Our attention spans are getting shorter, our patience weaker, as our access grows, so do our expectations, and so does our entitlement.
Not everyone is some evil villain of mass consumption, or a bully; I just think we’re unaware of how entitled we not only sound but are, and why that is the case. All I ask is that the next time you find yourself upset about waiting for a new project, you just listen to what you’re really complaining about: not getting your way. Sure, the overconsumption and overproduction of new content has made us insufferable, but it hasn’t made us unalterable.