Flow is the continuous exchange of information from the media source to the media consumer.  In the perspective of social media, flow is mostly involved with controlling the attention span of the consumers which will cause them to spend more time on the social media platform for example the for you page on Tiktok is a good example which characterizes the concept of flow because it provides the user which the content that he or she is familiar with hence keeping them hooked. This leads to  more chances of being bombarded with ads which will in turn increase the chances of maximizing the profit. This is very evident for the case of Instagram and other popular social media platforms.

The book essentially describes flow as the way that information is passed on by the creator of media to its consumers. Flow can also be studied as data. Online, website data analysts can see trends in how long people view their website, what items or specific pages they tend to view, and interest they might have based on their viewing habits. This is where flow really intersects with our technology keywords. Although it’s been stated before in class, I think the most glaring example of how flow is understood by analysts is on Tiktok. If you ask almost any Tiktok user, they be likely to tell you that their “for you page” is almost specifically tailored to their interests and sense of humor. On mine, I see things that seem like they were almost made to be relatable to me. Occasionally, I even see things pop up on my page that I was talking about to my friends or parents earlier in the day with my phone not even on. They way that Tiktok is able produce this content for me and millions of others is through their understanding of how to interpret flow.

Flow is the impulse to keep on watching. I think flow is especially relevant in the strategies that streaming services use to keep viewers interested. Television shows often have cliffhangers at the end of each episode to motivate and tempt viewers to continue watching. With streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, multiple episodes and seasons are readily available, so viewers can binge watch rather than waiting a full week for the next episode to be released. Streaming services are especially convenient because you can sign into your account on a phone/computer/tv and watch from anywhere (on the bus, at a hotel, in a park), so location does not hinder the flow of media. Moreover, the “Next Episode” feature on Netflix makes it so easy to simply click a button once the credits roll to skip to the next episode. Even more, there is a countdown of about 5-10 seconds, so if you don’t exit out of the show in that quick time frame, the next episode will automatically start. This feature, coupled with cliffhangers, encourages viewers to keep watching. Without much self control, it’s pretty difficult to avoid binge watching because the flow is everlasting and the technology makes everything so convenient.

The concept of flow, as it is stated in the text, is used as a metaphor for postmodern culture. The concept’s origins began in television, describing the flow of media from the television with commercials described as ‘interruptions’ of televisions flow. Around the 1970s, as the digital age took on a larger cultural role, the word’s usage shifted to encapsulate the circulation of information, infrastructure, and capital moving through digital networks. Unlike assemblage, which has a focus on the elements within an organised structure, the concept of flow focuses entirely on movement of such a structure. Social media platforms and consumer markets rely on user-generated flow. This is the data, funding, and user interaction that keeps media and financial systems ‘flowing.’ Specifically with media platforms, whether this be social media, streaming services, or television, data is collected from users and is then sent back into the ‘global information flow.’ Flow slightly reminds me of infrastructure, as both systems rely heavily on users to function and maintain movement.