Why Social Media HURTS our Art… and How to Avoid it
Navigating External Validation as a Creative
It’s so easy to fall into the trap of being overly critical of your work as an artist or creative person, especially when you start comparing your past work to your current work. This is something that I’ve had to come to terms with while working on my YT channel, particularly when a video I am proud of doesn’t perform as well as I thought it would.
It’s so hard to not be influenced by the way your work is received, and what bothers me the most is when I let performance and reception influence my own perspective of my work. It sucks to admit it, but sometimes the pieces you are most proud of, like my last video, are not received with the same admiration as you have for them yourself. The hardest thing to accept is that this is okay because external validation does not determine the worth of your work. Of course, that is easier said than done.
The Pitfalls of External Validation
Something I have noticed after publishing my seventh YouTube video is how easy it is to fall into the trap of optimizing for performance and views over pure artistic expression. I think many of us have experienced this as artists in the social media sphere: that exhilarating feeling of gratification when someone likes your work, the feeling that your work is being well received and accepted by others. That feeling can become addictive, and it is honestly so hard to forget how that feels after it happens to you, and even harder to not strive to experience it again. In my case, I found myself overthinking my thumbnails or my titles, over-focusing on whether I was optimizing my video for views and SEO, which, at times, began to overshadow the reason why I was making the video to begin with, which was to simply be creative and share my creative process and insights with whoever would listen.
I am not too hard on myself about it, and neither should you be if you’re experiencing something similar in your creative journey because, ultimately, we are all human, and it is normal to desire validation for our work. However, it is important to be aware of these feelings so that we can identify when we are acting in the best interests of our creative expression and not just in the interests of ensuring our creativity is perceived in a way that will garner us validation. There is a certain level of detachment that is important for us to have between our work and its public reception because we don’t want the latter to influence our future work or the way we perceive the work ourselves.
Something I try to remember is that art is a journey and a craft that requires practice, and each piece we create builds upon the last. Thus, attempting to measure its value along the way is futile because each work is part of a larger whole that makes up a lifelong creative practice. For me, I have found solace in the practice of delaying gratification and expanding the time horizon of my work.
By doing so, I can evaluate my progress over time rather than at every little checkpoint along the way. Looking back, it seems obvious that approaching our creative pursuits from the lens of delayed gratification would be beneficial. After all, everything I’ve achieved in my life has required delaying many wants and desires to focus on reaching my goals. I’m sure that, upon reflection, you would find that delaying gratification has played a role in your life journey as well.
The Benefits of Delayed Gratification
But why is delaying gratification so powerful and how can it help us disassociate our art from external validation? Well, if we were to break down what delaying gratification entails, it is, essentially, the ability to resist the temptation of immediate pleasure or reward in order to gain a greater reward in the future.
In terms of art, I believe it means focusing on the long-term journey and the process of creating rather than solely on the outcome or the reception of your work. When we delay gratification, we are able to detach ourselves from the need for external validation and focus on our own creative expression, which is exactly what we want to do to ensure we don’t fall into the trap of making art for the sake of others and, simultaneously, remain true to our own artistic voice.
Detaching yourself from immediate external validation can be incredibly beneficial for your growth as an artist. It allows you to take risks and experiment with your work without being constrained by the fear of how it will be received. This is crucial because, as I mentioned in my last video, if we become overly concerned with the opinion of others, we risk falling into the same societal boxes we are trying to break away from to ensure we are making art from a place of authenticity.
Moreover, it helps you avoid becoming too reliant on external validation, which can lead to a loss of creative freedom and a lack of authenticity in your work because you end up creating what you think people expect from you rather than from a space of sincerity.
Something that bothers me about art on YouTube and social media is that the content tends to favor speed and summarization over process and details. When you see an artist post a video every two weeks or content every other day, it feeds into the illusion that art is quick and easily reproducible, especially in today’s AI dominated discourse. That is far from the truth. Art and creativity take time, and the most rewarding parts take place throughout the process of discovery and creation, and rarely from the finished piece itself. However, the process is not something that most people get to see because it happens at the most intimate of times when the artist is creating. So, because the process can be so abstract and elusive, most viewers are forced to find worth and value in the finished piece since that’s all they really get to see.
Keeping all of this in mind, by delaying gratification, you can develop your skills and artistic voice over time without being too focused on immediate results. You can take the time to reflect on your work and evaluate it objectively without being overly influenced by the opinions of others. It’s important to remember that external validation is fleeting and often subjective, whereas the satisfaction you get from creating something you are genuinely proud of is more fulfilling and long-lasting. This is a mindset that I’m trying to adopt myself so that I can focus on deriving that fulfillment from the process of creation and the privilege it truly is to get to create art in the first place.
How to Break Free from External Validation
So, how can you delay gratification when it comes to your creative pursuits? Well, one way is to set long-term goals for yourself and work towards them consistently, rather than getting caught up in short-term wins or losses. Another way is to take breaks and step away from your work when you feel yourself becoming too obsessed with external validation or performance. It’s important to give yourself time to recharge and focus on the process of creating, rather than solely on the outcome. Lastly, I think it’s also important to detach yourself from your work once you set it free into the world. I like to think about it like a parent sending their kid off to college. It is both sad and terrifying to let them go into the world alone, but you must trust in the work you did to get them there and rejoice in who they’ve become and the opportunity in front of them to create an impact in the world or, at the very least, in someone else’s world.
one way is to set long-term goals for yourself and work towards them consistently, rather than getting caught up in short-term wins or losses. Another way is to take breaks and step away from your work when you feel yourself becoming too obsessed with external validation or performance. It’s important to give yourself time to recharge and focus on the process of creating, rather than solely on the outcome. Lastly, I think it’s also important to detach yourself from your work once you set it free into the world. I like to think about it like a parent sending their kid off to college. It is both sad and terrifying to let them go into the world alone, but you must trust in the work you did to get them there and rejoice in who they’ve become and the opportunity in front of them to create an impact in the world or, at the very least, in someone else’s world.
At the end of the day, I try to remind myself that art is a journey, and it’s essential to enjoy the ride rather than constantly worrying about the destination. Part of the reason I began my YT channel was to free myself from expectations and just have fun and create for the sake of it, for the sake of beauty, and for the sake of art. By delaying gratification and focusing on the long term, I believe that we can achieve this while simultaneously developing our skills and creativity in a more meaningful and fulfilling way. So, next time you find yourself obsessing over the performance of your work or seeking external validation, remember to take a step back, focus on the process, and trust in your own creative journey. I know I will try.
