Thoughts on Social Media

Shortly after I started painting consistently in 2015, I created a dedicated Instagram account for my art. At that time, Instagram really was instant! Content was sorted according to the time at which it was posted, and you could see, in real time, what friends were doing, creating, etc. I enjoyed this format--it felt like a fair playing field where everyone had the same chance of being seen. I felt motivated to share, join the conversation, and record the journey of my art study and development.

Fast forward to now>>incremental changes over the years have led to my feeling that Instagram isn't much more than a marketing game. And with constant unannounced changes to the algorithm, it's a game in which I'm never quite sure of the rules... sounds a little bit like an unhealthy relationship dyamic? :/ This strategy, of course, exists in order to "motivate" (dare I say manipulate?) people to take out ads in an attempt to stay relevant on the platform, and see the engagement they used to see before the shifting algorithm gods took over their experience on the app.

I wish I didn't have to play this game, but as an artist, I really do. I'm grateful for the "free" publicity (free is in quotations because the amount of ads I see in my feed essentially means I am paying my time and attention for what I receive). And it's true that many of the opportunities I've had as an artist have been facilitated by Instagram. So it isn't something I feel like I can discard while staying relevant in my field. 

However, I have learned some important things about how Instagram makes me feel, as well as some strategies for how to respond in a healthier way.

1. Comparison is the thief of joy - social media makes it rather easy to compare your work, your career, your opportunities, even your studio environment, to those of others. And it doesn't always bring about the most postive feelings.

2. Time - if I'm not careful. I can spend way too much time picking up my phone to check what's going on with the app (especially if notifications are enabled).

3. Perfectionism - new changes to the algorithm have given me a bit of analysis paralysis when it comes to posting something. Where I used to post just to record my progress and connect with friends, I now have added layers of thinking "Will anyone see this? If I don't predict it will get much engagement, is it worth posting? If nobody likes it, will I still like it?" There's this fear that if I don't post "quality" content, my account will shrink, people will respect me less, my work will be disregarded, etc. These fears may all be valid. However, I don't think it's the best way to approach my reasoning for sharing something online.

Some strategies I've used to form a healthier relationship with social media:

1. Comparison - I pay attention to how I feel when I'm on the app. If certain content makes me have negative feelings about my work, maybe I'll mute the account for a time. I'm aware that this is more about me than what anyone else is doing, but if I can make changes to prevent those feelings from creeping in (and address why they are?) I will.

2. Time - I've changed my phone settings so I only see my notifications from Instagram once a day (scheduled summary on iPhone), except direct messages. This way, I don't get constant reminders to check in and see how a post is doing. I also have a screen time warning for the app, where if I spend more than 30 minutes a day on it, my phone gives me a friendly reminder that I've reached my limit.

3. Perfectionism - This is a difficult one to overcome. One strategy I use to overcome my posting paralysis is to schedule my posts with a different app (right now I use either Meta Business Suite or Planoly), which takes away the stress of hitting post in real time :) Still, when I see, on a daily basis, a steady stream of the best artwork in the world pouring into my feed, it can feel difficult to share my meager attempts to play this game. The analysis paralysis sets in, which leads to deeper questions of motivation, "WHY do I even try?"

But I think that's what it all comes down to in the end.

Why do I do what I do? Why do I use social media? If I have strong answers to these questions, I can essentially override all the previous qualms by focusing on that why.

And for me? My why for creating art is this: I love it. It's an important mode of personal expression. Creating makes me feel balanced, whole. I want to share my journey (and for me, that's about more than just the perfect work. It's the process, including the ups and the downs, almost journal-like). Maybe this won't make me the most popular Instagram artist, or popular at all. But it will be sincere and authentic, which is more important to me than beating the algorithm game.