The Pressure for Visibility and Authenticity
We live in an age when it seems everyone is trying to get your attention, and it’s hard not to feel like you have to stay on top of everything. But what if you could just… not?
I’m sure we’ve all felt this way at some point. You’re sitting at home, thinking about what you want to do with your life, and then someone mentions something about social media or the internet, and the whole thing starts up again. You think, “I really need to check Facebook,” or “I should post something on Instagram,” or “Should I post this video on YouTube?”
And suddenly, it’s hours later, and you’ve done nothing but scroll through all your social media feeds. It can be hard to feel like there’s any space left in our lives for ourselves or our creativity — so much so that we might even start wondering if it’s worth posting anything! But here’s the thing:
You deserve to be seen and heard as much as anyone else does.
It doesn’t matter if you make videos for a living or work from home taking care of children — you deserve time for yourself and your creativity, too!
As a Content Creator (among other things), my life is far more engaged and involved than you might see on my social media. I have real friends and family. Real issues and everyday challenges affect me like everyone else. As much as I post on social media and create content, I love what I produce and am always eager to share it. I don’t particularly appreciate the constant pressure for visibility in creative content. I can put my heart and soul into creating “content,” only to have algorithms or data sets riddled with biases. It is also common knowledge that these non-inclusive data sets weren’t made for people who look like me.
I have found that social media can be a great way to connect with and share a huge time suck. I spend hours scrolling through my feed, which is only sometimes productive. All this creative posting out of necessity inevitably hinders my progress. I can’t help but feel that I’m a part of a system rigged against me.
It’s unrewarding being a content creator, mainly when I can produce content faster than fully-staffed agencies. Because of social media, I find myself in a constant state of proving my humanity to an ever-growing audience, and it is tiring.
I am not a product or a package prepped for sale; I am a person. I desire to be seen as a person and not a commodity. I’d like to be seen as someone other than a consumer that produces data generated and stored in some machine as learn more about the human experience through my experience! I expect to be respected for my work and not worry about whether my content is good enough. It’s my desire to create content without worrying about the algorithm or what is popular now. I want to be able to be myself and not have to worry about whether I am being too personal or not.
One way to address this issue is to have content creators be more open and honest about their experiences. I think that doing this will help to humanize them and make them feel more relatable. I also think it is important for content creators to remember that they are not obligated to share everything about their lives. As content creators, we should only share what we feel comfortable with. I think it is also important for content consumers to remember that the people they are watching or reading are people.
We all have our own experiences and stories and should be respected as individuals. If we can all remember this, it will go a long way in making the world a better place.
