Published May 18, 2023, 9:20 a.m. by Monica Louis
As an artist, social media can be a huge blessing. It allows us to connect with our fans, share our work, and build a following. However, social media can also be a huge curse. The constant comparisons and the pressure to be perfect can be toxic, and it can take a toll on our mental health.
Social media can be a great way to connect with fans and promote our work. However, it can also be a breeding ground for comparison and self-doubt. As artists, we are constantly bombarded with images of "perfect" lives and "perfect" art. It's easy to get caught up in the comparison game and start to believe that we're not good enough.
The pressure to be perfect can be overwhelming, and it can lead to anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. If you're struggling with the negative effects of social media, it's important to reach out for help. Talk to a friend, therapist, or other professional who can help you manage your mental health.
It's also important to remember that social media is not reality. The people we follow only share the highlight reel of their lives, and we only see what they want us to see. So don't compare your behind-the-scenes to someone else's highlight reel. Focus on your own journey and be proud of your progress.
The bottom line is that social media can be both good and bad for artists. It's important to find a balance that works for you and to reach out for help if you're struggling.
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likes comments views
these have all become a part of our
world
another source of validation for artwork
although yes exposure is noise for an
artist
there's a lot of weight that gets put
onto our shoulder
to reach for that star it now requires
an endless staircase of low self-esteem
a world of negativity
caring and pressure
when i first started posting my artwork
at the age of let's say 13.
i had maybe accumulated 50 followers
in which were all classmates of mine and
friends occasionally i would get a
stranger from a hashtag that i would
have used on my recent post eventually i
start to get more and more likes and i
liked it the thought that someone liked
my artwork was a driving force to
continue posting fast forward to eight
years later after transitioning from big
titty anime to anime fan art and
then eventually to kpop primarily bts
fan art i had accumulated to about a
whopping 2 000 followers at this point
it was 2020 and engineers had finally
grasped the concept of our worst enemy
the algorithm a system in which it made
content creators and artists harder to
reach their audience suddenly there was
this thing called an engagement
promoting your posts and a consistency
to posting it once the panorama had hit
and i had to attend zoom university i
made it about myself to post more often
i would say that i posted close to every
day although yes i did draw what i was
most interested in at the time
bts i had also been posting
to trick the algorithm to reach more of
an audience
everyone in my comments would ask how do
you post every day little did they know
what mental state i had to go through to
do that to diminish my self-worth if i
hadn't sketched or drawn something that
would be deemed worthy enough to post
that day to refresh the post within the
first hour to see if it would be
successful for the next
24 hours this would be a cycle for
about a year by the end of summer 2020 i
had unlocked a new achievement 10
000 followers
i was ecstatic
i was creating a small community sharing
content and befriending others who had
the same interest in me i was pretty
happy but then as i had started my
junior year of zoom university and i got
occupied i began to post less my
engagements were going down and so was
my self-esteem
it didn't help that i was beginning to
lose my interest in drawing fan art i
had been focused on building this niche
audience that i would eventually lose
touch with while shifting gears toward a
new career path although i had slowly
inched my way out of this art subject it
hadn't been slow enough for me to not
notice the drastic amount of followers i
would lose in the coming of months with
losing both my audience and posting less
the algorithm was not in my favor until
instagram reels became a thing i began
to post more instagram reels and gained
a heavy attraction from those it was
more effort to record the work in
progress but it was worth the growth of
my brand
once again i would eventually lose my
audience through the algorithm and get
upset if i hadn't gotten the amount of
views that i had gotten from the post
prior do you see a cycle
i was beginning to see it
that no matter what i had post
it wouldn't be enough for me
but it wasn't my art that was pushing
away these people well i mean except for
the bts fans
eventually i was gonna grow out of it
but
it is what it is it was the formula that
social media began to stir into the mix
they wanted me to buy promotions to give
them money so that i can make myself
feel better about myself to have that
sense of validation this was no longer a
safe space for artists it was
or should i say still is another form of
hell facebook really said capitalism
since when had it become a trend for you
to post art for likes
to pay for ads just to get your
followers that you had rightfully earned
did you know that only 10 of your
followers see your posts so if you had
100 followers only 10 people would see
your post
maybe a couple more if the algorithm was
just in your favor that day what
happened in posting to just show friends
of family and whoever you may have it or
to just simply show your beautiful work
that you were proud of
can we bring her back
after i had opened my
chak chakra chakra chakra
english gained a third eye for my blind
ass
no seriously i'm blind i'm in the
negative threes i geared my artwork
towards my own self-growth not the
growth of my social status online i
started to treat it like a blog well i
mean
essentially it is a platform to record
your journey in whatever and
if i just so happen to stumble upon an
opportunity then that's lit
but i was not going to let that stray
away of becoming the best artist that i
can be to anyone who needs to hear this
likes do not matter followers do not
matter comments don't matter subscribers
don't matter
shares don't matter at least for the
standpoint of being validated as an
artist
not everyone could be a marketing pro
hell sometimes i don't even understand
it myself i'll be getting 10k plus likes
on a sketch that took me 10 minutes as
opposed to a piece that took me hours to
make but that no longer stops me from
taking my time to work on a piece
just because one post is favored more
than the other doesn't mean that i'm
going to let that control the art i want
to create and post
similar to when i was growing out of my
fan art stage although yes i got a big
audience from drawing bts i wasn't going
to let that stop me from beginning to
post more personal and original work
though sometimes you'll catch me drawing
them because well
they're a snack
their music is great and
they're a snag
what can i say i believe that instagram
twitter tick tock whatever other social
platform is a great way to get
recognized and build connections for
introverted artists i have been given
multiple opportunities to pursue my
dreams of a freelance illustrator
through social media and even create a
small community through them
and i'm forever grateful for that only
when you begin to lose your purpose of
posting does it begin to become a hinder
to both your mental health and work your
priorities should always be your art
do not post just a post do not create
artwork for the validation create it for
yourself
post for yourself
post your art journey not just
your journey does that make sense
i'm reading the script and
girl what
post your art journey
treat these platforms as a journal to
your path as an artist and let the waves
take its course for opportunities if you
guys enjoy this video give it a thumbs
up and maybe
subscribe or not i appreciate y'all
sticking for this entire video and let
me know in the comments on your opinion
of social media
do you think it's toxic do you struggle
with it let me know and i will see you
guys in the next one
bye
[Music]
you
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