Kaia Anderson, online publishing coordinator
Social media is a huge part of all of our lives. People use social media to post their creations, grow their business or to simply show off their art. However, social media is based on an algorithm, meaning that for people to be able to engage with your art, artists must play the algorithm. As with most things, there are pros and cons. Joey Kelly, also known as Lowjam, is a musician here at Augsburg. When asked about his thoughts on the algorithm, this is what he had to say: “Social media is good for a lot of people in terms of spreading their art […] I find that more often than not, though, when people market their art in ways they think will appeal to the algorithm, they water down their artistry by doing something a thousand other people are doing the same way.”
Rian Ciernia spoke on the difference in algorithms between apps, “Sites like DeviantArt and Tumblr, especially during their peak years, were very good at exposing users to new artists through tags, groups, recommendations, and chronological feeds. It felt easier for someone to discover your work based on their interests. Modern platforms such as Instagram and X tend to prioritize engagement metrics much more heavily.”
Other artists like Lucia Salazar-Davidson said that “I think that social media algorithms may have an influence on the art that some artists create, but for me, that is completely irrelevant.” While he does post his art on Instagram, he does not post regularly and is very uninterested in maintaining an active presence on social media. Maija Terrio-Johnson believes that “art is something that can entertain and be enjoyed, but it also invokes intense emotions. It starts and adds to meaningful conversations. It goes much deeper than what our current social media algorithms favor.” This perspective dives deeper into what art is and how social media can stifle the emotions of art. Short-form media stops us from fully taking in what we are viewing. Instead, we keep scrolling, hoping for the next dopamine hit without stopping to reflect on past videos. “I put trust in my algorithm to bring me back to a creator I want to interact with […] however, due to the nature of the platform, when I am on my mindset is ‘be scrolling,’ and I forget about the videos I have just watched,” says Klaus Solko.
“Art is something that can entertain and be enjoyed, but it also invokes intense emotions. It starts and adds to meaningful conversations. It goes much deeper than what our current social media algorithms favor.”
maija terrio-johnson
Artificial intelligence (AI) has also been taking over social media. So many images are no longer made by actual humans, but instead are generated by AI. Almost everyone agreed that the push in AI content was significant compared to what it was just last year. When asked about the increase in AI, Emma Stanley said, “Yes, everywhere…I save things thinking it’s really cool and then people in the comments are like, ‘yeah this is AI.’”
The rise of AI has certainly made it harder for people to find human-made content, and for creators to reach their audience. Maybe we just need to do as Salazar-Davidson does and hit “not interested,” in hopes that real art will find its way to us.