For my ethical subject, I chose a subject that is close and personal to me, as I believe I can offer a personal perspective in the animation and analysis. The subject in question is the current mental health of artists in the online space. Specifically, those who wish to showcase their art on social media, yet feel crushed by the algorithm, and also become jealous of other artists.
With this theme, there are many ties to the message that social media is draining. Obviously, this can apply to not just artists but all kinds of people. While I have some personal experience in this field as I have had multiple accounts with varying success on social media, I believe looking at different artists own experiences and insights will be very important.
My background research includes a variety of videos helping with mental health or analysis videos on this subject. Two videos I found especially interesting on the subject are Qwizz’s video “Modern Social Media is Failing Artists” and Pikat’s video “Why social media tips for artists don’t work”. While both videos lean into humour and present themselves towards the younger generation, I am of the opinion that they are interesting insights into the current scene for artists. Qwizz says, in respect to algorithms, “They want to prioritise content that has proven itself to be profitable by holding attention for a longer period of time in some way.” and that “These algorithms don’t really reward you on any amount of effort.” Personally I believe this mindset to be heavily damaging, which is the basis for choosing this subject.
My target audience is similar to the videos watched while researching. I want to make something for the younger generation of artists, specifically the teens about to enter adulthood [17-19], and the adults that are fairly new in the field [20-25]. These age demographics would appreciate the message the most, as it would be about a system that they are finding themselves either fighting with or against. Of course, this isn’t to downplay how the algorithms and landscape of modern day social media also affect generations older and above, yet I feel the younger ones need this message more as they are fairly new but will also be experiencing the burnout for the first time. This is in comparison to the older members who may have found their own coping strategies around these issues.
The purpose of this animation is to achieve two things. One: to show people the mental health of artists to those uninformed in the issue. Two: to provide artists who are experiencing similar mental health problems something to relate to and find comfort in. While the first point is important, the second purpose is very personal to me as I suffer from confidence issues, especially on social media. Plus, the second purpose could lead artists to feel seen and potentially even seek help and support.
References
Qwizz (2024) ‘Modern Social Media is Failing Artists’ Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fitZm-Ghm70&t=2s (Accessed on 15/04/2025).
Pikat (2024) ‘Why social media tips for artists don’t work’ Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQzB5FInQIA&t=106s (Accessed on 15/04/2025).