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I need to say something that's been on my mind for awhile that, in all honestly, was a prominent thought I needed to express and address even before Night Mind, and it's something everyone, especially the creative set, needs to hear:
Numbers are killing us.
Numbers are killing us.
The followers. The subscribers. The engagements. The likes. The retweets. Those stupid little animated hearts.
The friends you have, the things you're invited to, the people who talk to you.
We've placed a numerical value on facets of life they were never supposed to reach.
The friends you have, the things you're invited to, the people who talk to you.
We've placed a numerical value on facets of life they were never supposed to reach.
How are we not all realizing what a long-pervasive issue this has been? We've been doing this to ourselves since the 2000's with the Myspace "Top 8" and we've only been getting WORSE.
Every day, we place numerical values on our worth as people via social media. Our human WORTH!
Every day, we place numerical values on our worth as people via social media. Our human WORTH!
You make tweets, posts, art, clips, videos, and what happens?
Anything sincere you did, anything you felt, any value YOU had for it, is now predicated on how many STRANGERS approve of it and tell you its value.
Strangers who just acknowledge you for ten seconds and move on.
Anything sincere you did, anything you felt, any value YOU had for it, is now predicated on how many STRANGERS approve of it and tell you its value.
Strangers who just acknowledge you for ten seconds and move on.
Worst of all, we've gotten into a mindset of how well our tweets perform as OUR value. Stupid little blurbs made in the span of a few seconds.
And then we hang our self-esteem on it, sensing we're without value if strangers don't approve. So we seek a better "performance rating"
And then we hang our self-esteem on it, sensing we're without value if strangers don't approve. So we seek a better "performance rating"
Then we compare and contrast with So-And-So, wonder why we suck in comparison, wonder what's wrong with us or if we're really worth anything because SURELY, if we WERE valuable, if we WERE approved of, we wouldn't be ignored so deeply, right?
And we dig harder for approval.
And we dig harder for approval.
Numerical performance used to belong to business and research. It used to be purely a tool for the measuring of products and initiatives. And it got into the art world, too, naturally.
But not every facet of art.
Not everyday life.
Then it got to everything.
And everyone.
But not every facet of art.
Not everyday life.
Then it got to everything.
And everyone.
How many artists and creative people do you know that do fantastic stuff, valuable stuff, who seem nearly impossible to help at times because their numbers don't lead them to believe in their worth and they break down?
How many times have you tried to pick them up from the dirt?
How many times have you tried to pick them up from the dirt?
How many friends do you know who AREN'T artists or creative people and get obviously depressed or express unhappiness when their funny tweets or memes don't get love online?
How many of them do you catch being performative when they're not a public figure in any fashion?
How many of them do you catch being performative when they're not a public figure in any fashion?
How many of you obsessively check your notifications to make sure that tweet you sent went over well?
How many of you make tweets hoping they get a lot of retweets or likes?
Think for a moment about how messed up it is that we've been trained into that mindset.
How many of you make tweets hoping they get a lot of retweets or likes?
Think for a moment about how messed up it is that we've been trained into that mindset.
We have taken a business approach to individual human beings and their expression, artistic AND mundane, forcing them into a competitive and performative atmosphere ruled by numbers as indication of value.
And we just adopted it wholesale. Made it part of our mass psychology.
And we just adopted it wholesale. Made it part of our mass psychology.
Likes, retweets, and followers are more than the new drug. They're the new measurement of our own value.
We turned the internet's self-expression capabilities into a world stage, and everyone is made a performer waiting to hear from the judges panel.
We poisoned ourselves.
We turned the internet's self-expression capabilities into a world stage, and everyone is made a performer waiting to hear from the judges panel.
We poisoned ourselves.
Numbers have their place, especially in online territories. But we have gone much too far, handing over HUGE aspects of our self-esteem and estimations of what's valuable to the number system.
Especially when what we give it is something WE valued up until it "performed" poorly.
Especially when what we give it is something WE valued up until it "performed" poorly.
I can't make Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or anything change the system. We're only going to realize what we've done, as a society, after a few more years of damaging ourselves like this.
After an entire movement online supported by multi-thousand-liked tweets, naturally.
After an entire movement online supported by multi-thousand-liked tweets, naturally.
But if I can reach even one person right now who needs to see their value is NOT numerical, that their worth is NOT tied into the social media ranking system, then this whole long thread was worth it.
We're addicted to numbers. And we need to detox before we ruin ourselves.
We're addicted to numbers. And we need to detox before we ruin ourselves.
