elfs | DeepThoughtPornPunk

Remember the concept of "time porn?" This was the premise of TV shows like Cheers, Seinfeld, and Friends: shows where the 22 or 42 minutes of broadcast implied that these people had plenty of spare time, and could spend a lot of it "just hanging out." In short, these are people who have what we don't: free time. We watch those shows to enjoy vicariously what we can't have, hence the label "time porn."

I propose that the next great wave of literature will involve "deep thought porn." We'll be titillated by the idea that the protagonist (there will be only one or, at most, a few) are the sort of people who can think deep thoughts, who aren't constantly distracted by the buzzing of their mobile phones, the constant hum and whir of their friends lists, the incessant demands of their email clients. We will read those books in which we enjoy vicariously that specific pleasure we no longer can have for ourselves: the ability to think in peace, free from the anxiety of continous partial attention.

Because it will have to communicate its message to a distracted audience, though, it'll obviously be flash fiction.