This centuries tragedy is the requirement of selling out to succeed. To achieve in this world artistically, and through the algorithm you must follow trends; copy the video ideas of another, use the same recycled sounds with the same recycled concepts. Even modern movies and shows are mostly reboots, prequels and sequels of former media. The top radio hits sample old songs. We live in an era of regression, and nostalgia is the puppeteer.
This age of copying, trends and plagiarism drives originality to be rejected. It neglects those producing something unique in order to reproduce and shine the spotlight on the same Steve Lacy Tiktok over and over again. The algorithm conditions a dependency on keeping up with media production in hopes of being recognized with repetitive posting. They are priming the user into addiction with data-driven ads and seemingly desirable doom scrolling. The entire social order severely lacks soul and is cliquish in it's manner. If you post something with an original sound by an underground artist, you are overlooked. If you post a video lip syncing to a top 40s song, you are likely to garner thousands of views. The internet grooms youth into the same cliqueish mindset seen in every early y2k film. You either try and fit in, or you don't make the mark. I see every creator trying to fit into this lens. But the question is, is viral stardom consistency or luck?
I have recently been experimenting with exercising my right as a creator to refuse to accompany my art to the sound of the especially cringe and overused trending sounds. Classical and instrumentals or witch-house is more suited for art, in my experience. For a long time I was creating reels that were garnering a lot of traction. Out of nowhere that view count dropped after consistent posting and rarely regained the same numbers. Which lead me to believe that the algorithm genuinely is completely random. The only thing that matters and may illicit to some level of being seen is to sell out to those top few trending sounds. Unless the algorithm creators stumble upon someone and as if god almighty-- blesses them with viral stardom with the most random original sound. As most creators have noticed, the algorithm is skewed otherwise. It doesn't have a process or predictability. It downloads data, shows you shit to intentionally upset you and then gives you a little dose of dopamine afterward to get you to keep coming back.
This of course, was a pillar reason as to why I abandoned doom-scrolling on social media. I go on to post my art, writing, products, etc.. but scrolling can be mind poison. I avoid reading the posts of others to avoid reading degradation, drama, conflict. It is also designed to be addictive and steal your time that could otherwise be spent productively. Also I had seen in the recent year a huge flux in extremely unhealthy behavior from the chronically online. Performative virtue signaling, projecting, accusations, and overall fascist behavior. I don't care to discuss my political beliefs with strangers, but it's the principal, psychology and the morality behind such behaviors that matter. For some reason negative and unhealthy behavior on the internet is encouraged. You see a clique of random people teaming up against a complete stranger for sharing a different opinion than theres, you see someone asking for advice and getting obliterated with degradation and negativity in return, you see people attacking the looks of strangers, you see cancel culture destroying someone's life forever over an incident decades old that they easily could have learned from by now. It's completely tragic and exclusively deranged. People in the real world don't act like this. I really have no interest in participating in discourse of any kind with people's whose mind's I can't change.
Back to my point, trends are ruining the world of art and creativity. Trends are gatekeeping original thinkers from getting any sort of recognition unless they somehow wiggle their way through to the viral light at the end of the tunnel. But the saddest part? I can't stop participating entirely. As someone who runs a small business and promotes my art in hopes of finding the right audience, I have to participate in this circus show of unhinged and malevolent people for my business to sustain itself.
Until then, I hope the world recovers from this dark age of follow the leader and moving with the herd. I can only hope they think of something new instead of continuing to exploit nostalgia in the entertainment business. Living in the past is a detriment to the present. I hope people can learn to be essentially them instead of portraying whatever illusion they want the world to see. I hope people begin to realize how fucking toxic social media is for everyone's mental health and stop taking the projections of others so personally. We've got to stop priming children into getting use to digital babysitters and screens too, because then they won't produce they will consume. And consume and consume until they lack any awareness of an individual sense of self.
Who knew advances in technology would contribute to the mental regression (and aggression) of society?
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