What if art, artists, and self-expression were to disappear tomorrow? What do you think the world would look like? Would it be drab, joyless, passionless, boring? Would the clothes you wear be bland and basic? Would packaging on products be unremarkable? Would movies, music, and art be created from AI that corruptly procured from the human artists that came before it? Would said “art” be wonky, weird, disjointed, and have multiple digits and appendages? Would art fairs disappear and be a thing of the past? Would art galleries shutter for good? How would it affect critical thinking and problem solving or empathy and emotional regulation? What if books no longer had pictures? Would concerts cease to exist? Would you miss art and artists then? Would you miss the human element and nuance?

This isn’t hyperbole. This is happening right before our eyes. Social media platforms are effectively misappropriating artist’s work and are essentially telling them it’s not good enough to pay them for, but it’s good enough to train their AI with and use for ads and marketing for the benefit of their company and its shareholders. They’re exploiting artists.

These platforms are not giving creators a means to opt out and are implementing these cruel, unfair policies into their terms of use. Artists are losing communities they worked incredibly hard to create, due to the artists having to flee these hostile platforms. They’re losing precious income that helps them and their families survive (especially if they’re disabled and this is their only means of work and income). The world is fundamentally telling them art isn’t essential and that they are unnecessary. Even though the art and content the artists have created entertain, educate, and inspire people and their work inherently helped these platforms grow. Not to mention, the taxes they pay helps the economy.

Art even has practical healing properties. Art is therapy. Art stirs the soul and creates connection. It kindles a fire in people’s minds, hearts, and spirits. It creates community. It helps patients with alzheimers and dementia. Studies show it prolongs and improves elderly lives. It helps people with anxiety disorders, PTSD, autism, and ADHD. There’s even been countless studies on how the arts improve executive function and motor skills in students that participate in artistic activities.

I believe that art is a necessity. It is sustenance for the soul. It calms, relieves stress, creates connections in the brain and in communities, and is even a great historical record. Just look at cave paintings! Please, don’t take the power of art or artists for granted just because it’s seemingly everywhere. It doesn’t cheapen its worth. Art makes the world a better place by improving the lives of those who create it and those who appreciate it. Art is invaluable!

Supporting artists can be as simple as sharing their artwork and information with your friends and family, by attending your artist friends events, by purchasing their work, and by expressing to others the benefits and importance art has on society.

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*For Educational Purposes Only! Statements made here within the blog are the opinion of the blog’s writer/owner, but we encourage you to do your own research into the benefits of art, the role society and social media platforms play in (allegedly) harming artists, and what you can do to help. No specific platform was named and any similarities are coincidental. Blog owner/writer not liable for any opinion stated therein.*

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