the social media struggle - and why it really shouldn’t matter.
Images from Alexander Shatov on Unsplash
Social media is a phrase that‘s always caused some level of contention in the creative community, and for many years instilled in me a love/hate relationship for my own sense of creativity. In my opinion, the phrase “social media“ has become an oxymoron, as opposed to remaining synonymous with digital community as it was originally intended. Reducing members of the numerous online communities to metrics, now we’re just another demographic to be captured by the countless algorithms used to determine the value of which ever content is on trend. For all the opportunities social media brings to our online society (and I can’t deny there are many), you won’t find any without a caveat.
This article is, admittedly, a cynical opinion of the landscape social media has laid out for us creatives. Although I’m an avid user (Instagram has long been my poison of choice), I question whether it’s an entirely consensual relationship or if I’d been unwittingly indoctrinated by the internet monolith. Social media has become so ingrained into our daily lives, it’s almost refreshing when we meet that new acquaintance that “just isn’t a social media person“. In the past two decades, a system designed to facilitate communication between friends and family has mutated into the commercial marketing tool it is today. Fuelled by society’s compulsion to consume media at an alarming rate and being adopted by almost all industries worldwide, the global social media market will be valued at $220+ Billion by the end of 2022. Leaving behind the remnants of what was once a simple means to share our creative spark and favourite emo bands from 2003 (pour one out for MySpace).
Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash
In the past twenty years it seems that we as a society have become infatuated with amassing a circle of in-app cheerleaders, being praised through convenience in lieu of creative development. All in the name of momentary validation by way of double taps and a string of emoji responses. I have very much been unconsciously embedded at the epicentre of this community, with my confidence often being measured only by the engagement of the most recent Instagram post. Needless to say, like many other struggling artists jaded by a prejudicial algorithm, I haven’t always had the most confidence in my creative abilities.
Yet the question still on many people’s tongue (probably just mine) after years of indentured digital servitude is, which social media app should we all be using? And will I finally grow on this one? The truth is it really doesn’t matter, or it shouldn’t. The pressure to submit to a fickle algorithm in a bid to keep that little creative pilot light aflame, while maintaining the human impulse to communicate has driven many away entirely. Many taking mental health breaks or experiencing creative burn out. Those of us who remain have been left cynical and jaded to the reality of what social media has become, with some artists feeling their work has diminished in value if it’s not met with sufficient engagement on the internet. Our better judgement tells us creativity shouldn’t be based on the promise of praise, but the appreciation of the creative process itself. We know this, yet we still rely heavily on a platform that alienates us, while worrying whether or not scrapping the white borders on our posts is worth disrupting our carefully curated grid (if this seems oddly specific, it’s because it’s been a genuine concern of mine).
Photos by Annie Spratt, Sarandy Westfall & Charles Deluvio on Unsplash
It wasn’t too long ago that the convenience of over-compressing sharing our photos on the internet didn’t exist at all, leaving artists to develop their bodies of work and distribute in a more tangible, intimate fashion. It’s important to ask ourselves, if social media were to disappear tomorrow would we still be as creative? If the answer is yes, it might be time to loosen our grasp of those pressures that provide little value to our creative processes. That’s not to say social media should be completely abandoned, there is community and endless inspiration to be found on the internet by our fellow artists, but at what cost? With new generations of artists coming to join the already burned out masses something has to give. Perhaps social media is merely a tool after all, that we have little control over.
Perhaps we should spend more time enjoying what we’re creating, as opposed to drafting the perfect caption to draw enough attention to what should be celebrated regardless. ✌️
