Speaking as somebody who started out as a digital evangelist in the 1990s and managed to achieve significant change within some major cultural organisations, it's tragic that so little seems to have improved on an individual level. The human cost of that change clearly continues and the experience of being a cog whirring at a different speed (and different direction at times) is something that even the most resilient can't fail to be worn down by. The fortunate find ways of refocusing their frustration into something positive, but it's a shame if much of that energy is leaking out of the sector.
Speaking as somebody who started out as a digital evangelist in the 1990s and managed to achieve significant change within some major cultural organisations, it's tragic that so little seems to have improved on an individual level. The human cost of that change clearly continues and the experience of being a cog whirring at a different speed (and different direction at times) is something that even the most resilient can't fail to be worn down by. The fortunate find ways of refocusing their frustration into something positive, but it's a shame if much of that energy is leaking out of the sector.
"ground down" would certainly sum up the tenor of the conversations I've had recently.
I reckon it's simultaneously the best and worst time to work in digital roles in the cultural sector. And I suspect it always has been.