Sometimes I find it truly astounding the things that humans can create: the intricacies of artworks that line museums, the written words of poets who have long since passed and even the complex devices that now connect us. They are all different and yet a beautiful manifestation of human ingenuity. However, the process and rate of creation have changed since the dawn of the internet and the shifting focus to profit within the business world.
Nearly every new idea has its roots in an old idea, and with a constant deluge of new ideas and information from social media and the vastness that is the internet, one would expect creativity to be stimulated for everyone at all times. Indeed, we can collaborate and be influenced by ideas that, without the internet, we may have never been exposed to and we can utilize various platforms and apps to design things that people may have never even imagined a hundred years ago. Research has shown that social media stimulates creativity, but also decreases “creative self-efficacy,” or the confidence in one’s ability to be creative. This makes sense, as when faced with constant comparisons to another creative’s work it can feel incredibly daunting to engage in the process of creating. It feels as though anything you produce must be an incredibly successful piece. That can diminish the joy of creating for the sake of creation and prevent the world from seeing so many beautiful things. Â
Moreover, it can be hard to be original when thousands of ideas are being generated and shared at all times. The effects of social media are real and will likely never go away as the world becomes more and more integrated with technology. However, the effects are not impossible to overcome. If we continue to integrate art into every level of education and foster creativity by supporting our peers, our children and our parents, we can make every creation feel like the beauty that it is. If we approach social media, and the internet in general, in a balanced way where we allow ourselves to connect and collaborate but resist the temptation to compare, we can continue to harness the creativity-invoking effects of the internet while mitigating its more negative effects on our creativity.
Capitalism’s effects should also be considered when observing perceived changes in creativity and originality. Something that highlights this is planned obsolescence. People often discuss the longevity of their parents’ appliances compared to how fast their own newer, and often more expensive, appliances seem to last. Indeed, when companies focus on generating more profit rather than creating durable and useful products, creativity can be stunted. Current versions of appliances —infamous for breaking down faster than their vintage counterparts—can be a good example of this. However, if companies can market their products as more durable than others that are designed to deteriorate as time goes on, they can balance profit and quality while also spurring creativity. Many products breaking into traditionally wasteful industries are introducing alternatives that are more environmentally friendly and concurrently last longer.
Creation and innovation are some of the things that make humans so unique. Certainly, it may have been easier to make something wholly unique before the advent of mass media and you were only truly comparing yourself with the people around you, but there remains still so much left to create, to learn, and to make. The vastness of social media can be daunting, but there is also so much more we can draw inspiration from. There certainly exists the barricades in the quest for originality but if everyone works for it, there is no telling what we will all get to see.