Social Media or Professional Media?
If we break down the term social media, it doesn't mean much.
Media that is social? Media that promotes social interaction? But it's not necessarily just media like memes or videos, it's persistent advertisements and event push notifications and memories of what you posted a year ago because it's clearly important we remember what we published last year?
Like, oof.
I didn't post on social media twice last week and I'll tell you why:
I was tired.
I had nothing to post.
I forgot.
I'm busy with my family.
I will not let the success of both my social life and professional life become dictated by an algorithm.
I was nervous of not posting anything because maybe then it looks like I'm not busy enough to be taking my art seriously, when behind the scenes I'm just making more tins (some custom) and working on a commission I'm not sharing until it's gifted, if then. I'm also creating wedding invitations and some abstract art that's not in a place where it's aesthetically pleasing enough for Instagram. (When did productivity only become impressive and believable when it became something you could see?)
Anyway. Part of the reason I left marketing was due to social media. It's SO much pressure to keep up with it and show up in your face every day, but it made me think - Why should I let an algorithm developed by a wannabe metaverse god dictate my career success as well as my social life?
And then, frankly, why should I be in your life every single day? Isn't that a bit narcissistic of all of us on a professional and personal level? "Oh, let me make sure to post so everyone can see something new in case they look for me--and maybe buy something." Capitalism at its finest.
In the end, here, I've realized my content quality suffers if I post as frequently as once a day. I'm schlepping through old files from college (which I graduated from OVER TEN YEARS AGO) to see if I can post something different if I haven't finished anything new. I am realizing the hard way I cannot be an art factory for the sake of success in an algorithm dictated by billionaires.
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