10-05-2022, 08:30 AM
I listened to a bit of the first video, and just read the descriptions of the others, so let me know if I'm totally off-base here:
Yes, you are right to stop using Instagram if you are having these sentiments. Not only is there a total oversaturation of users and media on these sites, but you are also at the mercy of algorithms whose functions are not made known to the public. Gone are the days of a simple chronological feed; even artists who already have 100k+ followers will sometimes stop appearing in their followers' feeds entirely. If Caravaggio lived today and posted a new painting on Instagram or Twitter, somebody might look at it for 2 seconds and promptly forget about it before it disappears into the endless sea that is the "art" tag. It is not an environment that cultivates a deep appreciation for anything.
I've asked an artist who has way more followers than me about this, and read the opinions of others, and the common thread is that you have to put a lot of time into social media to get anything out of it. Sure, you can get lucky, or your art may be particularly compelling to the audiences on those sites, but unless you're already mega-popular, you must be highly active in the artist "community" and in the hashtags of people who are likely to be in your target audience. And even if you self-promote aggressively, building a following is likely to take a long time. This Reddit thread has some good posts on the topic: https://old.reddit.com/r/artbusiness/com...roblem_is/
So you really have to ask yourself if it's worth it, and what your goals are regarding art in general. If trying to self-promote on social media is killing your love of drawing, take a step back and ask yourself why you're doing this. If you can find a balance that you're happy with, then great; but otherwise, quitting some or all social media sites is probably for the best.
There's also a "more people on stage than in the audience" feeling on social media that I find a bit unsettling, but maybe that's just inevitable in an environment where everyone can self-promote.
Yes, you are right to stop using Instagram if you are having these sentiments. Not only is there a total oversaturation of users and media on these sites, but you are also at the mercy of algorithms whose functions are not made known to the public. Gone are the days of a simple chronological feed; even artists who already have 100k+ followers will sometimes stop appearing in their followers' feeds entirely. If Caravaggio lived today and posted a new painting on Instagram or Twitter, somebody might look at it for 2 seconds and promptly forget about it before it disappears into the endless sea that is the "art" tag. It is not an environment that cultivates a deep appreciation for anything.
I've asked an artist who has way more followers than me about this, and read the opinions of others, and the common thread is that you have to put a lot of time into social media to get anything out of it. Sure, you can get lucky, or your art may be particularly compelling to the audiences on those sites, but unless you're already mega-popular, you must be highly active in the artist "community" and in the hashtags of people who are likely to be in your target audience. And even if you self-promote aggressively, building a following is likely to take a long time. This Reddit thread has some good posts on the topic: https://old.reddit.com/r/artbusiness/com...roblem_is/
So you really have to ask yourself if it's worth it, and what your goals are regarding art in general. If trying to self-promote on social media is killing your love of drawing, take a step back and ask yourself why you're doing this. If you can find a balance that you're happy with, then great; but otherwise, quitting some or all social media sites is probably for the best.
There's also a "more people on stage than in the audience" feeling on social media that I find a bit unsettling, but maybe that's just inevitable in an environment where everyone can self-promote.