poppytalksmedia

[poppytalksmedia]

We Are All Media Artists Now

Social media has become the new norm for so many people, including myself, that we often forget that what we post can have an impact. Every image we take, and upload is unique but, as soon as the post goes live, who owns that image?

It’s a difficult question to answer. In theory, once a piece of media is on the internet, it is the consumers, and they can do as they please with it. But ownership is not as simple as that; the images and videos we put on social media are a form of art, even if they do not appear to be on the surface. My interpretation of art is that anything we make with a creative influence is artistic, whether it was intended that way or not.

Let me explain: social media provides us with a platform where every individual can express themselves however they wish (within reason). Because of access to such a platform, people produce content they want to share and therefore, are content creators. Creating such content, no matter the purpose, is intended for other people to view, just like physical art you would see in a gallery. This viewership is what, in my opinion, makes social media content art and, as a result, makes people on social media, media artists.

So, back to image ownership and usage. Even though I view every image on social media as artistry, does that give other people the right to use it? It’s a question even I don’t have an answer to but, that’s where memes come in. Time and time again we see funny images from people’s personal content being used alongside a funny caption for consumer entertainment. However, these memes can have an impact far greater than the people creating, sharing, or even ‘liking’ them realise.

A prime example of this is the well-known ‘Kombucha’ meme. Brittany Broski is now a well-known content creator and influencer but, when she first went viral back in 2019 for her initial reaction to drinking Kombucha, her whole life was impacted. Brittany was working in a bank at the time and as a result of the widespread use of her video for meme content, she was let go from her job. Granted, her life now has benefitted from this outcome but, at the time, the impact could have been detrimental for her.

Brittany essentially signed away her livelihood when she posted that video; even if the video were removed, the damage would have already been done with the image being circulated across multiple platforms all over the world. Whilst arguably Brittany owned the right to the video and images cut from it, she could not physically stop other people creating content from a video she had chosen to put online. From her media art, came consumers and other media artists willing to make more content for entertainment. But ultimately, what seemed like a harmless meme had real-world problems.

Is that the problem with everyone becoming a media artist in todays world? I would argue that most people nowadays create media art, but is that a problem? Not enough people realise the influence of a single tweet or photo posted, shared, ‘liked’, to understand how impactful they can be. Media art can have a serious impact on real-world events, but not enough people realise that creating their ‘harmless’ content is in fact influential.

Meme creators are not very well-known as people but, there is enough of them to not only create their own content, but also share other people’s content to their large following. Instagram and Twitter meme pages have really taken off in the last few years and have amassed millions of followers in the process. With so many young people on these social media platforms, it does put into question what these young people are seeing and how it impacts their opinions.

Young people are influential, that’s a given, but so is everyone to an extent. Meme culture and media art that is shared over the internet can have a massive social influence on events and public opinions. This can be seen recently in the 2020 US Election which saw Donald Trump ridiculed by not only major media outlets, also social media which, in turn, may have led to the outcome of the election. Obviously, it is not just media artists that aim to inform and persuade, it is the press as well but, there is no denying these content creators who are often seen as insignificant can have a profound effect.

Looking more closely at meme or comedy pages, we find that not only are they often anonymous, they also often have a lot of followers but are private accounts. Being as inconspicuous as they are allows these pages to post content that can be deemed inappropriate for young people and get away with it. Whilst bigger media organisations, such as newspapers, are regulated in the UK, on social media it is up to the platform itself, as a private company, to deem what is appropriate for users.

Having to monitor the entire platform for themselves can be difficult, hence a lot of content does slip through the net. These pages that create this content probably don’t consider who may be viewing it, and young people who do see harmful or inappropriate content may not be aware that is harmful. Examples that I have seen from these pages include beheadings, serious injuries, and unsuitable sexual content. This is the danger of everyone becoming their own media artist and their work now being more accessible than ever.

I am guilty of partaking in meme culture; the funny tweets and TikTok videos that are shared to other platforms that I ‘like’ and share are far less harmful than others I have seen but, that doesn’t mean I do not participate in other people’s content being shared online, possibly without their knowing. I do enjoy the memes people make, but without even thinking, I often laugh at the expense of other people. Knowing that people work hard to produce this funny content makes me wish they were credited more but, unfortunately, with the internet putting this content on such a large scale, it can be almost impossible to find out who created the original meme.

However, there is of course an upside to the advancement in accessibility to people who want to share their media art for the greater good. There are people wanting to share their hard work to a large audience, earn a living and give people free entertainment; it is amazing how this has become a career for so many people. I often see video makers, photographers, influencers etc sharing their work online, and me just stumbling upon it by accident can lead to more views, customers, or income for them. For that, I am grateful that media art is as extensive as it is.

Whilst I did not always view myself as a media artist, I know that I do in fact fit the description. I create content, sometimes public, for other people to see. It may not take a lot of effort, use complex tools, or have any profound meaning behind it, but it is still ART! I took those photos or videos, I wrote that caption, I shared it with the world. That is why I think that we are all media artists now.