Can we Reset Social Media?

 Does social media have a reset button? Maybe a factory reset??

I unwittingly participated in a self-experiment this week; I spent way way too much time consuming content on social media. My profile is found on just three, Insta, FB and YT. The bird one I see as being a bit to confrontational for my tastes, at least that’s my impression so I'm not on there. Oh yeah and the clock one, I use that one too.

Speaking of impressions; does anyone really know what that means?

After 7 days of scrolling, swiping, streaming and clicking over 5hrs a day on social I’ve noticed a few things.

•  A lot of people speak really really fast. Sometimes being selective about the words you use, slowing down and expressing personal emotion are more effective at telling a story. Or maybe its just me. I like things simple. Right?
•  I hate sales, selling and having someone sell or be salesy to me. Yuck. Its just icky to me. Could be just me feels this way. IDK
•  The social accounts I am most interested in tend to get buried beneath all this mental junk food that I’m not interested in.
•  Too much consumption of social media can disrupt sleeping, interfere with concentration and increase stress. It did for me. Maybe it won’t for you?

AND

• There’s really very little content that I find that actually interests me. Maybe 10% of all content I see I find truly interesting and worth remembering. Yes, I’m an artist. So, the “algorithms” think that I only want to see art. All art, regardless of who creates it. Art schools, museums, galleries etc. etc. All day. Everyday. All the time.

While choosing to be an artist also means adopting the lifestyle of an artist it doesn’t mean I want to only consume social media content that is art related. I’m mean, I’m a human too. And we humans are multifaceted beings. I also love cooking, gardening, ice skating…. no this is not a dating profile, lol.

And, this may sound weird, but I prefer not to examine a lot of art that isn’t my own because I don’t want to be overly influenced one way or another at this point in my career. While I’ve made considerable gains towards developing a unique “voice” in my work I am still developing. Its interesting to step outside myself and watch how things have developed. I only need to look at my artwork over the past 6 years to see the transitions from one skill level to the next. One creative muse morphs into another. Technical skills are honed. And a clearer inner direction starts to take shape, fuzzy at first but slowly moving into focus.

And I’m not convinced social has helped me grow my art practice. Well maybe a bit. I did learn about some art groups that I’ve joined or been juried into. And I did find the Art Academy and Tim, who have helped me progress over the past couple years. So, I suppose its not all terrible. At least 10% is useful.

Now who’s gonna write me an algorithm to filter out the 90% mental junk food content??

Like this painting? You can find it on my website: cherylannhillsartist.com