Remember albums? As a kid, I would just drop the needle on a record or press play on a cassette. Even with Twisted Sister’s “Stay Hungry” album, one of my first cassettes, I rarely thought to skip ahead. Meaning I was just as likely to hear “Horror-Teria (The Beginning): A) Captain Howdy B) Street Justice” as their far catchier hit song, “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” I began beelining for specific songs once my family bought a CD player. Later on, record labels started releasing compilations of one-hit wonders and songs from different genres and eras. I was partial to Rhino’s “Super Hits Of The ’70s: Have A Nice Day” series. “Now That’s What I Call Music!,” which is up to Volume 89, was another way record labels would chop up and repackage albums. For a while, that (and the radio) was a pretty good way for me to get my sonic fix.

When streaming services, AOL Music, and YouTube took hold in the world, my mind started getting reprogrammed. The idea that I would sit through a whole album was a stretch except for truly special singers and groups. Eventually, social media infiltrated how I eat, encouraging a piecemeal approach. When left to my own devices, and unless I’m dining with family or friends, I’m now more likely to seek specific dishes or embark on food crawls than sit down to a complete meal.

I’ve always been compulsive about maximizing my food experiences to enjoy, and learn about, different global cuisines. I’m clearly not alone, but apparently I’m also susceptible to Instagram, Facebook, and other social media messaging. Now I’ve become a food lover who frequently seeks seasonal or limited edition dishes, pop-ups, collaborations and other edible ephemera. Yes, I keep multiple to-try lists. That’s a byproduct of how social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok dissect restaurants. People have shorter attention spans and crave bite-sized content.

Is this a problem? Probably for me, considering how driven I am to eat and explore. I could always just stop paying attention, and my ever growing stream of dishes to devour and new places to visit would dry up like Pac Man in the middle of a Power Pellet shipping embargo. For the moment, I’ve submitted to the algorithm. No skipping.