Is it? Is it really the end of social media? At least for artists? Well, let’s start from the beginning.
When I was raving that artists shouldn’t rely on instagram, everyone thought I was crazy. And now, many years later, artists are mass-leaving social media. (And to be honest they are leaving for the wrong reasons. Well, at least they are leaving. That’s something!) What is really happening?
The Rise of AI
With AI on the spotlight, artists around the world went rampant. Which is partly understandable, AI supposedly “stealing” their content, more thoughts on the topic later. The wake-up call was meta using artists content to train AI. Apparently this was too much for anyone.
Personally I don’t care about AI too much. It is an inevitable step. Many things will change over time, just like it happened with the Industrial Revolution. Back then, a lot of people lost their jobs. Does this mean that the Industrial Revolution shouldn’t have happened? No. This is what we experience now, a pivotal point in our development as a planet, and as such it should be treated with extreme caution (history teaches us to learn from our mistakes after all), but worrying about AI stealing my art, is naive, at least compared to the big picture.
Let’s also not forget that history repeats itself. I am not too old (or so I would like to think!) but old enough to have witnessed the rise of photoshop and digital art, about 15-20 years ago. There was a time that traditional (mostly) artists were yelling that digital art is not “real” art, digital artists are “cheating” and digital stuff is wrong, unethical and evil. And I am asking you: What about digital art today? Today digital art is recognized as the pinnacle of art and it is admired and praised worldwide. I am afraid that the same will happen with AI art in 15-20 years from now. I believe the main problem artists have with AI is that AI is already making art that can touch people and evoke emotions. (Something that “real” artists sometimes fail to do)
Realizing that Social media is all about content, not about art
I elaborate extensively on the matter here, so I strongly recommend you read this post as well. In short, social media has become a “show”, there’s nothing noble there. Nothing about art, just show-off. (And the same people that do anything to gain empty followers, rave about how “bad” AI is) It is disgusting. I am honestly baffled that this didn’t bother artists before, it seems humans are made for attention, the means to grab this attention are not so important. (And this is coming from the last person who would expect to put labels.)
And now what?
I am so ready to say goodbye to social media, I am quite relieved to be honest. The last years, my Facebook and Instagram have become merely a catalogue of my work, no interaction, no critiques, nothing. Personally I will move to portfolio-oriented platforms, like ArtStation , and the now emerging Cara, but I will be using them just to showcase my art, nothing more. I can’t be bothered with building an audience only to lose it when the hype about the new platform deflates. I have never tried to actively gain followers before, I certainly won’t start now.
And of course I will keep posting my thoughts and my work on this little corner of the internet, aka my website. It’s about time you got a website, if you don’t already. Cause if you don’t, I will come back in a couple of years to say “I told ya!”. Seriously now, if you respect yourself and your work as an artist, please consider having your own website.
Exceptions to the rule?
I will of course keep my YouTube channels up and running. Why? Because I love it! Because I love making videos and because I love teaching people – I have worked as a teacher for many years in the past and I was super passionate about it. Time to get back, right?!
Which tells us what? If by any means you enjoy instagram and you love this kind of interaction, keep doing what you do! Be happy, don’t be afraid to have your own voice and … keep creating!
