I have 1,144 friends. I only talk with
about 100 of them, and I’m only friends with about 50 of them, but Facebook reports
I have 1,144 friends, so I guess I do.
We live in a world
of constant connection: 24/7 communication is not an option—it is a responsibility.
When the guy in front of you at Starbucks looks like Zac Efron, it is your duty
to text your best friend, upload a pic to Instagram, and tweet about it using
#omgZacEfron’sOrderingACaramelMacchiato. Ten minutes, twelve likes, and a
jealous best friend later, you know you have sufficiently made a social
contribution.
It is this way of
being and thinking that defines much of my generation. As a product of these
social media-infused times, I am both a participant and an observer of the ways
in which we communicate and behave online. While I do not believe that
technology completely defines my generation, social-media is undoubtedly the notably
gene-mutation of our collective generational DNA. Moreover, our over-tweeted,
instagramable upbringings have raised us to live on the principles of
interdependence and immediate-gratification. It is this shift in life outlook
that is causing (or perhaps forcing) artists to reevaluate how they create
their work. We see—in this class as well is in our everyday lives—artist utilizing
social media to create as well as publicize their art. While I feel there is
nothing wrong with this phenomenon, it does pose the question—should artists be
tailoring themselves the changing tides of each generation, or creating the
waves themselves?
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