Researchers predict the time lag between novelty and utter hatred (of seeing something new on the web) is likely to narrow further as technological advancements continue to increase and expand social connectedness online.

We project that by 2018, the gap between liking something new and wishing yourself dead rather than hearing it again will be down to 60 seconds,” Levinson said. “And by 2023, enjoyment and abhorrence will occur simultaneously, the two emotions effectively canceling each other out and leaving one feeling nothing whatsoever.

“I can’t fucking wait,” he added.

Dr. Amy Smith is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, where she runs the Development Lab, or D-Lab, a lab organized around simple and cheap engineering solutions for the developing world.

Among the rules of thumb she offers for building in that environment is this:

“If you want something to be 10 times cheaper, take out 90% of the materials.”
Making media is like that now except, for “materials”, substitute “labor.”