A close friend opened up to me about his views on social media. An accomplished painter and art educator, he stood back from social media to bring order to his work, and as a result, he's more immersed in his projects. Later on, as I was searching for a video on Gouache painting, I found a video on YouTube by German artist Julia Bausenhardt that got me thinking about how social media hinders deep thinking and prevents us from working with a rested mind. So, is this a new trend or is this something that was long coming?

There are several other videos on this subject, and I highly recommend looking into it. Whether a trend or not, I've also taken breaks from social media before and will continue to do so. The truth is that just as it's shallow, invasive, and tiring, social media delivers validation and exposure to artists that need it, and very likely could not have it otherwise. I don't seek validation, but some exposure seems necessary. However, it is 'dangerous' how scrolling becomes addictive, making us waste valuable time that we can use for working on our craft. I really recommend listening to Julia Bausenhardt; she even shares some tips on how experimenting with our habits also help us confront ourselves. I plan to spend the next few days with as little social media as possible, and when accessing an account, I will do so without scrolling, so let's see how it goes.