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Have you ever wondered why the music on the radio is lacking in creativity (or just downright blows)? Have you ever given thought to the idea that most TV shows are just ripoffs of successful ones? Why is it that the things that used to be great are now meaningless and dumbed down? There are three things that take into effect:

1. When people find out that they can make a lot of money off of an idea... They do... And others join in until this idea is bled completely dry.
2. Buying into these ideas eventually become routine for people.
3. Faddism takes effect.

Points two and three are similar, but not exactly the same. I apologize if the title of this post is misleading; the following will not solely be about faddism.

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Here is a picture that illustrates the lifespan of a successful idea:

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An example of what this means:
Here is something we can all relate to: Steemit! The dark blue section represents when Steemit first came out. The people who believed in it before the rest of us even heard about it became very successful. People started to catch on, so more joined in. This was the green phase. This is also when I joined Steemit! Right now, I believe that we may be entering the light blue phase. This may not be true, but STEEM has been constantly losing value lately... Leave your thoughts about that in the comments!

A better example:
Let's take the music industry. The dark blue phase would be when music was first being discovered (or invented). The green phase would be in the days of people such as Mozart and Beethoven. These are the people who pioneered music and helped make it what it is today. They saw a great idea, and they took advantage of it because they believed in it. They became very successful because of it. The light blue phase includes after the pioneers, all the way up to the late 1900s. In that time, music was a way people could express themselves. Now, in the orange phase, music has become just another industry. It is extremely hard for musicians to make a living off of it. Many songs today are just meaningless fads. They serve no purpose other than money and industry.

Why do the things we love have to become so meaningless?

Well... They don't! Despite all of the terrible music out there today, people are still making great music! It is just harder to find. Aside from that, if what you love makes people a lot of money, then sadly, it will become a meaningless fad. This is a process.

Step 1

Someone has an idea. This idea is to vague too be patented, so a number of people try to use it to make money. It works!

Step 2

More people, including smart businessmen, catch on to it. They make boatloads of money with it.

Step 3

Sales skyrocket. This new idea sweeps the nation. People all over the world begin to adopt this idea.

Step 4

So many people try to use this idea for their advantage. The only ones able to make a lot of money off of this anymore are huge corporations and businesses.

Step 5

Corporations start using their dirty methods. They know that the masses will continue to buy into the product. The businesses push to maximize profit. The effort put into making a great product decreases dramatically. Most of their inputs go into advertisement. Buying their now low-quality product has become so routine to people that they buy it without even thinking twice.

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So, the next time you are buying a product, ask yourself, "Is this actually a good product, or is it just the dumbed-down version of what used to be a good product? Do I even want this?" Hell no you don't want it! Go support a business that works its ass off to provide a great product. Forget that massive corporation that mass-produces crappy products! That being said, there is still another option. Go spend your money on something useful instead! It is probably just a trend anyways!

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