A Rant About the Superficiality of Art Consumption on Social Media
As I sit and write this—a few hours before I’m supposed to submit it—there are three tabs open on my laptop: a playlist on YouTube, full of songs that make me feel like a narrative’s main character, my embarrassing Twitter feed that I habitually scroll through, and, of course, the document on which I’m drafting this write-up. These tabs (excluding the document) are open as daily practice, regardless of whether or not I have an assignment to complete; I’ll be sitting here, in front of this blinding screen, until my vision blurs and my back sinks into itself (and I wonder why I have back pain at 16).
With the unholy amount of time we spend on the internet, we often forget what we’re actually addicted to—and, in some form or another, it’s all art. Whether that be the next song I play, the sketch my friend just posted, or the show I’ve been binging lately, art is a ubiquitous part of my life. And I think I speak for everyone when I say this: without the presence of art in almost everything we consume, our existence would be a lot harder to cope with, especially at this moment in time. There are certain films, paintings and photos that I hold dear to my heart, without which a big part of who I am would be lost (yes, I steal personality traits from movies—don’t pretend you don’t).
It’s safe to say that art plays a pretty vital role in our happiness and entertainment. So why do we treat artists and their work the same way we treat fast food? Quick to get, consume and throw away. I feel guilty when I consider that all we do is like, retweet, and comment, every once in a while, on a piece that likely took someone hours and hours to create. We passively participate in appreciating work that we’re truly fond of—and that doesn’t make sense to me in the slightest. We do it because subconsciously, we’ve created a culture where it is acceptable, and even expected, for a creator to consistently and repeatedly put out content simply in hopes of not being forgotten. Artists are expected to create numerous masterpieces in a very limited time, and it’s truly saddening!
It would be oblivious to ignore all that social media has done for artists. It’s provided them with innumerable opportunities and a platform to make a living. The eliteness that was earlier associated with art has slowly been broken down, allowing art to be shared on a medium to which each person on the internet has the right to enjoy and contribute. Nevertheless, a part of me just wishes we would not feel the need to go searching for the next show to binge, minutes after completing the previous one. The more I realise how superficially I’m taking everything in, the more I want to just take a moment to fully absorb the sheer talent that people are putting out—and I hope artists are eventually valued more than they are on social media today…
Written by Anoushka Mishra
Designed by Amrita Jain
Images taken from Unsplash
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