Go to allyouhumans.substack.com for better show notes.

We’re still in the early days of social media. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram are all less than 20 years old.

Big picture, this is just the beginning of social media. And it’s interesting to see the changes in how we’ve been using it since the early days.

The question is how social media culture will continue to evolve in the future to suit our revealed preferences.

In the beginning, Facebook culture was very different. Today, we’re reeling from its unintended consequences.

We’ve institutionalized identity. We’ve outsourced trust to external institutions to tell us the truth about ourselves. This is not just found in social media, but in universities, and net worth figures.

But these institutions aren’t always accurate. The truth is we can’t accurately quantify the subjective.

As humans, we tend to exist through the eyes of others. This is an idea discussed by Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone De Beauvoir.

Something as subjective as identity or self-worth can’t be accurately measured by quantifiable metrics. But it’s ironic that we try to accomplish that with social media.

Perhaps a new social media culture is evolving. One centered around authenticity and failure instead of polished highlights. We see this culture with memes and TikTok. Could this be the next step? How long could it be before then?

Humans have these natural tendencies: the desire to be more, the struggle to commit, and the search for meaning and authenticity. Life is uncertain. Luckily, we have art.             

Check out allyouhumans.substack.com for show notes.

Some Resources: 

Fear is the primary color of the amateur's world: fear of failure, fear of success, fear of looking foolish, fear of under-achieving, etc.

Turning pro is a choice we recommit to every day. It’s a decision to ruthlessly create something authentic and stick to it over the long haul.

Professionals have stepped back from themselves and their egos. They've grown so bored and sick of their own bullshit.

What changes when we turn pro is that we stop fleeing. We turn around and face our fears and create something authentic and meaningful.

Art is an approach that we pursue on for its own sake and not because we want anything guaranteed in return

Practicing art is not the means to the output. The practice is the output because it is all we can control.

We separate the outcome from the practice. Not because we don't care about the outcome. But because we do.

Art is seen as this hobby/pastime reserved for people with time. For wanderers. It’s seen as doodling and painting, but it’s about creation.

But for many young people who value meaningful work, it’s exactly what we’re seeking.

Art is anything done for it’s own sake. Whether this is building a business or serving coffee at Starbucks, art is something we do because we enjoy it.

What art is cannot be determined externally. Whether something is classified as art is an internal attribution we make ourselves.

Art represents authenticity. The fact that we enjoy it and chose it out of all the things we could’ve done is meaningful.

Art is intentional. It represents a choice we continue to make every day.

Art is work that feels like play. Making art is a sign that we’re living life on our own terms.

Raise your hand. Speak up or do for something you truly believe in. It’ll take a bit of time to know what this is, but it’ll be worth it. Art is authentic to us.

Think about your current track if it’s relevant to what you stand for personally. Modernity has a way of shifting our priorities so that we do what’s socially acceptable instead.

Separate the outcome from the process. Not because we don’t care about the outcome, but because we do.

Go. Make art.