Is It Possible to Feel Creatively Connected Without Social Media?

I was, at one time, a book author. I wrote technical books and then I was a novelist in my "copious" spare time. I never managed to make the jump from "aspiring" to "real," with the novels, but I did have a fairly good NYC agent, FWIW. My tech book was a best seller, all three editions. I did some ground breaking things. I introduced Facebook to my writing community of about 10,000 writers. They were reticent about adopting it, but eventually did. Sadly, it was the end of the community. The short form Facebook destroyed communicating in long form emails. After social media, we stopped discussing things and started talking AT each other in soundbites and talking points, or memes--UGH memes! I did podcasts to promote my first tech book when they were still called "Internet Radio." I taught about 20,000 other authors about them, some of them NYT bestselling writers, and many of them jumped on the bandwagon. Then Twitter launched. Most of my writing pals are on Twittter. I never saw the point. 140 characters (later280)? The toxic chatter. Your phone buzzing and beeping all day? The back and forth of it. UGH. Instagram is even worse, because beyond a tiny bit of text, it's mostly just pictures. Insta is all narcissistic attention wh----. I will admit to having an Insta... for the small city where I live. I take pretty pictures, mostly flowers, sunsets, and hidden places where it's really attractive but you'd never expect it. Summary: Social Media, UGH UGH UGH!

Richie Chen,  asks How do we stay integrated and continually share our values through art and expand our influence as creatives without social media and at the same time not feel like we’re missing out on something that the majority of our population seems to be trending toward?   Many a great author, artist, creator share their values through their work, like others have done for decades.  Word of mouth, local/national gatherings.    And does social media actually produce meaningful and mature connections?  Or just sound bites, instant gratification and then move on to the next media click bait?    Look at how the minimalist lifestyle has grown and how less is more, get away from the saturation of social media is a core belief.      Highly recommend Jaron Lanier's book from last year, Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, for some food for thought.

I have found that the really worthwhile artists don't bother with social media. Personally, for me it all boils down to one thing: I do not want to take too much of my precious life time looking at my phone screen. I just don't enjoy it and have found that I prefer the company of people in the real world who also prefer living in the real world. People who are on their phone constantly just seem way too disconnected for my energy. Also, there is something so flattening, phony and desperate about social media in general that seems to taint all those who live by it.

Ah, .... The Age Old Question: "Yes, but is IT Art ??" So, now, without Social Media; does an Artist support "Trending towards ... (what?) the current Public taste? ". Or, hit me with "Instagram feedback ... "? (yawn) Sure, its cool, and immediate gratification (?), but from a ton of people that you don't know - or who's advice/opinions you probably couldn't trust, or even slightly believe. Beyond Instagram's ego/eye-candy, I wouldn't by a used, or a faux Van Gogh from any one of those Instagram jaspers. At the end of the day; dear painter/sculptor/film-maker, dancer, musician, chef and/or gardener ... to Thine Own Self be True !! Make your Artwork straight from your Heart. Otherwise, the gross "commercial" aspect will be all to present, and all WAY too phony. True Story: There is a "Painter" who calls himself "the Painter of Light" (emulating Paris, France, because it is the "City of Light"). His signed/re-touched "prints" were in the 10's of thousands, rather than a valid 100 print Edition. His work was hot for awhile, and now his images are on jig saw puzzles, and K-Mart bags. He had a schtick, a gimic, that worked for awhile. His dot-com market was over-saturated, and crashed. Now, he is known as "the Painter of Lite". Nobody taught Shakespeare or Mark Twain how to write. That creative ability and spark is something you are (or maybe you aren't) born with. Go with that. Follow your Heart, and don't stop. And, truly, good luck !

Creatively connected? How about an operational definition (ie with necessary and/or sufficient conditions so we can know when we know what it means)? Given the absurd equivalence of being connected and being on social media, I would have to ask connected to what? In my world, it would be impossible to be creative (whatever you mean by that word) via social media. The most purely imaginative enterprise is the only form of conceptual art, which is mathematics, a purely man-made innovation that has no connection with the physical world. It is the only pure conceptual art form, in which mental concepts are described so precisely that their meaning and images are invariant from one person who grasps the concepts to the next. That is to say, they are seen only in thought, but they are the same for all who see and understand them. This is evident with the work of the artists who create the forms, as they rely on one another for their platforms. The only things I see when I look at social media are trite and derivative. Creative? No way.

The title of this article made me laugh. Seriously? Gosh, I guess NONE of the artists who lived before social media felt creatively connected. Good god.

For me, the real world around us is infinitely more interesting and complex that the digital. We don’t give ourselves enough credit - creation is an act of original and deep thinking. Find a few muses and know them well. Go inside yourself for the answers. Do this again and again, sharing results with friends and colleagues in person. Great art has largely been a result of this kind of iteration and hard work.

Don't believe the hype of social media. I am a professional artist who knows that social media as practiced in reality is a social ill that ultimately mines your life and those connected with you for business' profits. The myth that is makes meaningful connections is belied by the truth that it promotes decisiveness. It is unnecessary for life. Making art is my sole means of making a living. I sell and display a lot of my work through meeting with clients and galleries in person. My deal with devil is maintaining a simple website that displays some of my work so I can show people whom I meet in person. I go to galleries, I meet with other artists, and I grow as artist. Live your life in the real world - it works and is much healthier.

I can't even describe how much I have personally struggled with this through the years. Thanks to Richie Chen for asking the question and to Megan O'Grady for the thoughtful response...

Thank you for this writing. Your final paragraph doesn't reach too far; it is sublime

The best art experience I ever had was at a time when I spent the winter alone in Canada. I was painting most of the day and thinking about painting most of my waking hours. It took six weeks to reach a certain concentration level completely free of distractions. I lived on a high totally involved in painting. I felt wonderful. I was producing and doing good work. I have never since reached that concentration point again since life has a way of intervening. But I know what that kind of concentration can do for an artist. Most people cannot possibly find the space to do this. Especially now.

Maybe it's because I'm a writer and a loner, not a visual artist. I maintain a tight network of fellow writers and editors without the distractions of social media. But I'm not promoting myself. If I didn't have a day job, it might be different. Social media keeps me in touch with family, distant friends, and a few (older) former students who still use Facebook. I don't have time for other forms. To each their own.

Back in the ancient days of yore, like around 2015, I used Facebook as a means to connect with friends and meet new people, truly as a social medium. That got boring after several years and as I was about to delete my FB account, I was hacked and it was deleted for me. Good riddance blah-blah. I do still use Instagram to post much of my new artwork. With the exception of close friends and family, the majority of my followers and vice-versa are strictly business-related, as in galleries, art fabricators, other artists I admire, etc. Much easier than paying someone to post everything I create on my website, which is probably ten years behind my current work. And isn't the value of social media in how you use it? P.S. Getting rid of your alerts and notifications will definitely improve your peace of mind.

I don't employ and couldn’t care less about Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Redditt and similar social media outlets. I take special pride in not being LinkedIn. I do have a library card and seem to be surviving with it.

I write, I draw, I read news from all over the world and email a few friends. I was a director of a SCIFI Webzine, I "spoke" to a lot of people on line. Creative comes and is an individual thing unless you work for a major studio. Then by that fact alone it's collaborative. Yet it's still you and the graphite, the keyboard the paint and your mind, and then your editor. Maybe a better way of stating it is: being creative is somewhat schizophrenic. To be successful as in making a living off your efforts, you need the acceptance of your patrons, public or private. If your patrons are the general public, today social media might be a necessary ingredient. As Bob Dylan wrote, "you gotta serve somebody".

Idiotic "As you already know, art doesn’t happen in a vacuum." What I know is nothing except a vacuum happens in a vacuum, which, based on the article, may inhabit the reporter's head. Art need not be profound, thought provoking or innovative to be...well, to be great art. Often times, great technique is simply enough to be great art. While some may demand the "destructive power of art"(that is to force ((or inspire?))) one to view the world (or part of it) differently thought the lens of the artist, sometime a beautiful work of art is simply a beautiful work of art. Durer knew it and knew a wing was just a wing and a hair was just a hair. Those that can create meaningful art do so. Those that can't often create what passes for modern art. Or gas. PS: My son and I actually got asked to leave the LA County Museum of Art for laughing at some of the contemporary pieces (but admired the marketing of them to the patrons in need of something other than themselves to try to impress). Then again, I grew up with three rules of art: 1) paint what you like rather than like what you paint, and 2) if you do two barrels' full of art in a lifetime, you only get to sign those in the second barrel, and 3) If you are going to make a drawing of horse make a horse, not a drawing of one. If you don't understand the last rule take up accounting.

I really have no idea what you people are on about half the time. Clearly NYT made a $ decision a while ago to phase out the old intellectuals and substitute this kind of stuff. Its really obvious whats wrong w/this title. Connected to What? to Whom? And regardless, no one NEEDS social media for anything. Its a tool, a drug, as we know from science, and it has ZERO to do with the kind of creative connections i need for my art.

I have been struggling with this as well. Connecting for art or connecting for validation is a tough nut to crack. A few years back I became addicted to social media. Once I learned they were designing it to be addictive, I first took steps to limit the aspects I do not enjoy that they had toyed me with, then limit the people, then limit my access by removing it from my phone. In painting my office recently I removed access entirely (unintentionally) for a spell and found I was happier and more productive without it at all. And don't miss it. Getting away from social media and its superficiality helps encourage real connections, so I've found. I miss being able to show off my work, but that faux validation, so dependent on algorithms, isn't worth the beating down of my soul by a machine designed to addict me.

Yes, it is.

A decade ago when my adolescent granddaughter Facebooked her sexual exploits, I decided that it was more information than I cared to have. I'm not stupid or a prude. I knew she was sexually active. I just have no need for the details. I got off Facebook and have never looked back. I don't miss it at all. I am on no other social media. My daughter wishes I were on it so the pictures of her young, adorable kids were just a click away for me. I figure that she can email me the pictures if she wishes me to see them. I email her pictures of my art work and the rest of the world simply doesn't care. I think that social media has gone a long way toward destroying meaningful interactions between people. If you feel it is more important to you to be on your phone while we have dinner, then go ahead and indulge yourself. The consequence of your decision is that I will have dinner with someone who wishes to interact with me.

As a successful and still active artist and performer at age 80, I regard social media as the enemy of artistic activity (caveat: I didn't give up my day job, and retired at 54). Even reading the Times online, as I'm now doing, and bloviating on this topic, is a waste of my creative energy, and if I spent time stroking my ego on Facebook, etc., I'd have to give up art. Of course, being a "creative" doesn't necessarily mean you're an artist, especially if your artistic goal is money and fame. The real reward of being an artist is the pleasure of being creative and communicating your vision to others and, if you're successful, pleasing and instructing them. I learned this during years as a "professional" musician and actor (meaning that's how I got money to eat and pay rent). The unfortunate consequence of being "professional" is that your artistic vision is warped by the reality of what pays and what doesn't. An aunt who was a successful NY fashion illustrator and an aspiring oil painter put it best: "The only reason to make money is to buy time." Time to be an artist, she meant. If your ego needs social media, by all means consume it. Zuckerberg needs the money, and his clients want to guide your spending and voting patterns. But don't think it'll advance your creative mind or develop your artistic skills.

Well, many people managed it before computers were invented.

I like many, love museums to study art and seek inspiration. I don’t use Instagram to post, but occasionally peruse & enjoy seeing what other people post— whether it be those living out of an RV or their art work. When it comes to my own art, I have always painted only for myself. I have a hard time thinking of any piece as “finished” or “for sale” but do aspire to show my work. There’s something romantic, or maybe I’m just old at heart, about waiting to be discovered at a show or by word of mouth. I guess that’s what is holding me back from social media, or maybe it’s just simple fear of failure.

The late, great, comedian, Mr. Bill Hicks would have seen these so-called Instagram "influencers" for what they really are - ad executives/marketers and had nothing to do with the platform. He used more colorful metaphors in describing these advertisers than I can use here in a moderated setting but I follow in his footsteps. I make art that most folks will never see. I'm content with showing at a local, non-curated community gallery here in Tucson, Solar Culture, from time to time. That's good enough for me if it spares me the agony of the existential crisis that is social media. Those "likes" on social media are just so much hollow garbage and it's just one more pointless addiction on top of my alcoholism that I just don't need. At least the alcohol makes me feel something along with the surly disposition. IG "likes" just leave me feeling surly.

Like all human endeavor at this late date in planet Earth, it would be great if "art" took a nice, long, hiatus.

Exquisite. Thank you for helping me by writing this. It is so true that we forgive one another’s “showboating” and “showing off” because usually someone or the market is asking us all to do so. It is said that Instagram is the largest art dealer in the world. I feel like that you capture well that grace needed on the weird self-promoting platform.

I've been a professional designer since 1997, don't have a Twitter account, & hardly use Facebook. LinkedIn seems pretty useless as well, even though I'm a member (I've never gotten any new clients using it). I now own my own design agency, have major global corporations as clients, and don't feel the need to be tethered to social media to feel I'm being creative. I have an imagination, and have never been a follower. I do, however, have books that cover design greats like Lubalin, Mucha, etc., and I go to museums frequently to get my creative juices flowing if I feel I need to. I personally feel like social media is for short attention span creativity, where it's all reactive, all the time, and I feel that reactions are heavily tipped toward following the herd. You might get "likes" for something you did, but those folks will forget about you when the next shiny thing or cat meme comes along.

The first question now found on many fellowship applications after one's name and address is link to one's "relevant" social media platfoms. It is no longer enough to write/sing/design like a promising journalist, singer, or designer, one must also "curate" themselves for an audience tacitly being taught that anyone who is anyone will already have a platform -- as opposed to earning one through producing good work. How are all these books no one has/will read so hotly anticipated? I want to be moved, not advertised to.

Those who crave approval from others via social media, or any other form of herd thinking, will never be artists. You will only become an artist when you are no longer interested in any art but your own, and you care not a whit about the opinion of others. Paradoxically, when, and if, you reach that stage, the authenticity of your art will touch many others. As James A. M. Whistler said "Art is upon the Town." Many are called, but few are chosen.

I’m a photographer who does not have an Instagram account or website. Several of the small number of my photographs that did make it onto the Internet were appropriated by others for their own uses including one that became a meme downloaded millions of times. I worked as an archivist for 24 years at a major institution and had the incredible privilege of discovering and pouring over large collections assembled or created in the early and mid-20th century, most little known as a whole to the public. To me, the culmination of a fulfilling and significant artistic career is to have a lifetime of work assembled as a whole in one professional archive, noted on an inventory, but largely unknown visually to the Internet and quietly available to those true researchers and scholars who invest the intelligence and time in discovering and appreciating it.

As an artist who uses instagram, I find it a useful and enjoyable way to connect with and see what other people are doing, including many artists I have never met and do not know. However, I realize my own instagram feed is an anomaly - filled with roughly 95% art by living artists. When I see other people's feeds full of selfies, food and inspirational quotes, I understand why most people find it pretty boring if not downright annoying. But if the point is to share your creations, particularly if they're visual, I think it's a pretty good form of social media. Though I do sometimes wonder if my non-artist followers find my posts odd or, as the author proclaims, "self-promotional." When I post a selfie once every 18 months or so, I suddenly get likes from a whole host of people who usually just lurk. I'm guessing that finally I'm talking their language.

I read this Q & A intently as I am in the same boat. I really hate the superficiality of social media, but at the same time I want to show my artwork. I feel like if it isn't shown then it suffers a death. What to do? It is the ultimate conundrum. I need to find a community to show my work to, but have not done so. It's hard to find... Any suggestions fellow artists?

Oh, sure. Just imagine what a cultural wasteland we'd be in if Leonardo had said, "Right after I check Facebook."

Hilarious! The writer thinks that social media promote creativity! They doesn't. Sure, it's important for marketing. However, social media are the exact OPPOSITE of creativity. Social media is about being an influencer.

Speaking of IG only, being able to see the work of painters, weavers, photographers, potters, etc. that I will never know personally much less have the opportunity to see their work in person is a godsend. Both inspirational and educational. Twitter and IG can be soul-robbing for sure but it's easy enough to ignore/block/mute the negative or unwanted blather and use these tools for good. Interacting with the "admiring Bog" (to keep the Emily D thing going) can be a pleasant experience.

“The real creative life, in other words, is entirely offscreen.” Any serious artist must be disciplined and that means eschewing social media which has been designed by psychologists to be addictive. Artists do tend to be obsessive people. So, be obsessed with your art, not your phone.

Unfortunately, the NY Times used to promote discussion of books on its various Books links. However, for some reason they decided to greatly limit readers' comments. So, I read the Books section (and therefore the rest of the paper) less and less. However, I note that I recently read "Three Daughters of Eve" by Elif Shafak and "Fábula asiática" by Rodrigo Rey Rosa because of articles I read in newspapers. Neither author has much of a social media presence. Yet now, I will continue reading their other novels because these first two were fabulous.

I am an avid photographer by hobby, which I take seriously as a need for self identity and expression. After 2 years on IG, I shut down my feed. The "likes" seems random, and I admit to feeling anger/jealousy when a crappy photo from someone else would get thousands of likes, and my incredible photoe (;>) would get 17 like. Plus, IG is 100% mobile device driven. I am sorry, photograhy/art needs to be SEEN, not seen. This is not a plug, but I found YouPic, a social site specifically for photographers that is both human and machine curated, and is designed to incentivize users to interact with one another. There are other photo sharing sites that can help foster community. FB and IG are NOT the only games in town. I find the interaction with photographers to be more real and focused on the actual art/technique, rather than driven by the false KPI of a thumb.

"the struggle to forge a self" Well, dear reader and dear columnist have identified a serious problem in today's social media-dominated world. Emily Dickinson on Twitter would have been an act of self-immolation. Jane Austen would have preferred being an anchoress. This pressing existential problem requires serious philosophical heavy lifting. Rather than alluding to Peanut and movies, the problem requires ideas by such thinkers as Edmund Burke, Immanuel Kant, Søren Kierkegaard, and Sigmund Freud. And even Simone de Beauvoir. All of us need to define our selves in regard to society, the system, and ultimately the transcendent. Then perhaps we can put these social media toys away. Social Media may look fun, easy, and innocuous. But really, it is a digital extension of the system of production. It is a function of rationalism. Yes, Virginia, there is more to life than the rational, like the aesthetic and the transcendent.

Someone will eventually turn social media into art. I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet.

I'm a writer. I recall one day I got a creative idea I really liked and immediately posted it on social media. And 3 minutes later I said to myself, 'What have I done? That's a great idea?' I killed the post and set to work writing an article centered on the idea. This points up another problem: social media can so consume us with the temptation to impress others that it devours our ideas. It's a monster that's always hungry.

Perhaps you should have turned the question on its head: Is It Possible to Feel Creatively Connected WITH Social Media? Twitter/Facebook is a breeding ground for what the French call 'pensée unique' (roughly, group think), and surely nothing is more antithetical to true creativity than that.

I recently lost a major speaking engagement because the client could not find me on LinkedIn and that raised concerns about my relevance and engagement. Sigh. So, I have reluctantly returned to a platform I quit more than 10 years ago. While we still can control how much time we spend on social media, a complete absence from it will suggest to some that we simply do not exist.

Great essay (beautifully written, balanced, enlightening, informative) and capped with a constructive set of options to the original question. Thank you: it was wonderful to read and inspiring!