Cheap entertainment has a negative effect on both creativity and mental health, which is why we need to re-prioritize real art that taps into human emotion. Cheap entertainment is the most accessible entertainment, and the most accessible entertainment is naturally what people end up consuming the most. Those are things like TikTok, Instagram, fast food, etc.. It becomes harder to find motivation to do other things when these kinds of distractions are so easily accessible. They take us further and further away from fully engaging in our own creativity and our life in general. They disconnect us from the real world, and negatively impact our health.
It is evident that we as a society have gravitated towards cheap and easy distractions as entertainment instead of real art. Unhealthy entertainment is consuming our lives, and making society more and more disconnected from the real world. Cheap entertainment gives us unhealthy amounts of dopamine, affecting our health overall. According to “The Junkification of American Life” By David Brooks, the psychiatrist Anna Lembke writes in her book "Dopamine Nation” “The paradox is that hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake, leads to anhedonia, which is the inability to enjoy”. When our main source of dopamine is from this constant easy and junky entertainment, we are unable to enjoy real art or life. There is clear evidence that cheap entertainment negatively impacts your health. The psychiatrist Lembke had a patient who suffered from depression and anxiety, and whose life was consumed by social media. She didn’t initially like the idea, but once she took the advice given to her of going through her days without her phone or any devices, the patient realized that she enjoyed it. She was able to take in the world around her, and enjoy the world in a new way without any more of the junky dopamine hits. I have experienced this feeling myself by limiting my screen time. It is important to be aware of these habits. If we are able to limit these cheap distractions, we will be able to see the true beauty of the world, including real art.
Artificial Intelligence is a big issue that takes away from real art. AI art is already beginning to take away the beauty of art. We are unable to appreciate this type of art because it wasn’t thought about, there was no joy or love put into the art, and we are unable to analyze or appreciate the work put into it because the work was done automatically by technology. Unfortunately AI will soon make it even easier to create unhealthy entertainment. If our entertainment becomes solely based on what AI comes up with, there will be no more room for creativity. This is why the laws surrounding AI are so important. Even in social media, regulations must be made in order for our society to live happier, healthier, and even smarter lives.
Experiencing life and experiencing true arts is the goal. It is incredible just how different the experience can be from watching a band play live compared to listening to pre-recorded music from your device. To be fully a part of the experience, the base pounding in your heart, embracing the feeling of joy in the room, along with everyone else in the room. This feeling is irreplaceable. The same goes with watching live theater or indie films vs watching whatever brain rot TV show is popular at the moment. Many TV shows contribute to the unhealthy habit of consuming easy entertainment. TV shows with dumb jokes, and predictable but entertaining plots. These kinds of shows end up being very popular. When people are drained or tired, they tend to gravitate towards these kinds of shows, because it is quick, easy, and entertaining. Watching a good film on the other hand is actual healthy consumption. Films that have a lot of thought put into them leave a very different kind of effect on people. Artistic or indie films and shows usually leave people thinking in new ways, seeing the world differently, discussing theories, characters' lives or problems, and that kind of media intake never leaves people feeling like they wasted their time. The reason for this is because that kind of media is made by people who are thinking outside the box, and who are using their skills of creativity. As the author of “The Nature of Creativity” brought up, The willingness to take risks is a constant attribute to being creative.
Environment can also be a form of taking risks. Environment is an important factor to helping embrace one's own creativity. Some environments promote creativity. For example, I grew up with a Waldorf education where they used art as a vital tool in educating students. Instead of using textbooks, we created our own books from everything we learned in classes. Using art as a tool to learn has incredible results, creating a more enjoyable and fun learning environment, encouraging creativity, and creating an environment that engages students. This applies to people of all ages. For example, according to the video “Creativity and the Brain: How The Arts can Shape Wellbeing”, there is an organization that uses dance as a form of therapy for elderly with Parkinsonism. There is evidence that this practice of dance helps in a many number of ways. Recreational/art therapy works because it provides a release of emotions and expression that people have been holding onto for so long.
Incorporating creativity and art in our everyday lives can improve our happiness and health significantly. We as humans tend to hide our emotions, we put on masks. The thing is, suppressing emotions is a very unhealthy and problematic thing that causes illnesses, both physical and phycological. We need to be able to think about utilizing art as a type of medicine. In the Article “Art as a Path to Emotion”, they say that “Art’s subject matter is emotion”, and that is why art makes us happy. It makes us smile, or cry, or laugh, and really feel. We make art because we enjoy it. It helps us release emotions, and it helps us truly feel emotions. Even just playing music and dancing as a family releases a form of expression and bonds us all together. This is why we need to incorporate more art into our lives, and view it as a healing practice itself. Another way we are able to enjoy art is when we are able to enter a state of flow when working or being creative. To be in a state of flow is to let go of distractions and anxieties, and be fully engaged in your work. It feels as if nothing else matters but what you are doing, and you are able to naturally engage in your work, and find a rhythm to embracing your creativity. This is when you truly enjoy the work you are doing.
Limiting outside distractions such as cheap entertainment, is what will allow us to be able to fully embrace our creativity and re-prioritize true art. Doing this will also significantly improve our lives and overall well being. We as a society gravitate towards cheap and easy distractions, and it negatively impacts our well being. Artificial Intelligence and cheap entertainment are things that take away from true art and creativity. Experiencing true art is what makes us feel the healthiest kind of dopamine, and our environment is a very vital part of experiencing this, as well as the practices we engage in.
Brooks, David. “The Junkification of American Life.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Sept. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/09/05/opinion/entertainment-junk-psychology.html.
Cusack Handler, Joan. “Art as a Path to Emotion.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/of-art-and-science/202008/art-as-a-path-to-emotion. Accessed 30 Sept. 2024.
Sima, Richard, et al. “Creativity and the Brain: How the Arts Can Shape Well-Being.” YouTube, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 2023, www.youtube.com/live/qhjBBr7am-E?feature=shared.
Sternberg, Robert J. The Nature of Creativity: Contemporary Psychological. Cambridge University, 1988.
It is evident that we as a society have gravitated towards cheap and easy distractions as entertainment instead of real art. Unhealthy entertainment is consuming our lives, and making society more and more disconnected from the real world. Cheap entertainment gives us unhealthy amounts of dopamine, affecting our health overall. According to “The Junkification of American Life” By David Brooks, the psychiatrist Anna Lembke writes in her book "Dopamine Nation” “The paradox is that hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake, leads to anhedonia, which is the inability to enjoy”. When our main source of dopamine is from this constant easy and junky entertainment, we are unable to enjoy real art or life. There is clear evidence that cheap entertainment negatively impacts your health. The psychiatrist Lembke had a patient who suffered from depression and anxiety, and whose life was consumed by social media. She didn’t initially like the idea, but once she took the advice given to her of going through her days without her phone or any devices, the patient realized that she enjoyed it. She was able to take in the world around her, and enjoy the world in a new way without any more of the junky dopamine hits. I have experienced this feeling myself by limiting my screen time. It is important to be aware of these habits. If we are able to limit these cheap distractions, we will be able to see the true beauty of the world, including real art.
Artificial Intelligence is a big issue that takes away from real art. AI art is already beginning to take away the beauty of art. We are unable to appreciate this type of art because it wasn’t thought about, there was no joy or love put into the art, and we are unable to analyze or appreciate the work put into it because the work was done automatically by technology. Unfortunately AI will soon make it even easier to create unhealthy entertainment. If our entertainment becomes solely based on what AI comes up with, there will be no more room for creativity. This is why the laws surrounding AI are so important. Even in social media, regulations must be made in order for our society to live happier, healthier, and even smarter lives.
Experiencing life and experiencing true arts is the goal. It is incredible just how different the experience can be from watching a band play live compared to listening to pre-recorded music from your device. To be fully a part of the experience, the base pounding in your heart, embracing the feeling of joy in the room, along with everyone else in the room. This feeling is irreplaceable. The same goes with watching live theater or indie films vs watching whatever brain rot TV show is popular at the moment. Many TV shows contribute to the unhealthy habit of consuming easy entertainment. TV shows with dumb jokes, and predictable but entertaining plots. These kinds of shows end up being very popular. When people are drained or tired, they tend to gravitate towards these kinds of shows, because it is quick, easy, and entertaining. Watching a good film on the other hand is actual healthy consumption. Films that have a lot of thought put into them leave a very different kind of effect on people. Artistic or indie films and shows usually leave people thinking in new ways, seeing the world differently, discussing theories, characters' lives or problems, and that kind of media intake never leaves people feeling like they wasted their time. The reason for this is because that kind of media is made by people who are thinking outside the box, and who are using their skills of creativity. As the author of “The Nature of Creativity” brought up, The willingness to take risks is a constant attribute to being creative.
Environment can also be a form of taking risks. Environment is an important factor to helping embrace one's own creativity. Some environments promote creativity. For example, I grew up with a Waldorf education where they used art as a vital tool in educating students. Instead of using textbooks, we created our own books from everything we learned in classes. Using art as a tool to learn has incredible results, creating a more enjoyable and fun learning environment, encouraging creativity, and creating an environment that engages students. This applies to people of all ages. For example, according to the video “Creativity and the Brain: How The Arts can Shape Wellbeing”, there is an organization that uses dance as a form of therapy for elderly with Parkinsonism. There is evidence that this practice of dance helps in a many number of ways. Recreational/art therapy works because it provides a release of emotions and expression that people have been holding onto for so long.
Incorporating creativity and art in our everyday lives can improve our happiness and health significantly. We as humans tend to hide our emotions, we put on masks. The thing is, suppressing emotions is a very unhealthy and problematic thing that causes illnesses, both physical and phycological. We need to be able to think about utilizing art as a type of medicine. In the Article “Art as a Path to Emotion”, they say that “Art’s subject matter is emotion”, and that is why art makes us happy. It makes us smile, or cry, or laugh, and really feel. We make art because we enjoy it. It helps us release emotions, and it helps us truly feel emotions. Even just playing music and dancing as a family releases a form of expression and bonds us all together. This is why we need to incorporate more art into our lives, and view it as a healing practice itself. Another way we are able to enjoy art is when we are able to enter a state of flow when working or being creative. To be in a state of flow is to let go of distractions and anxieties, and be fully engaged in your work. It feels as if nothing else matters but what you are doing, and you are able to naturally engage in your work, and find a rhythm to embracing your creativity. This is when you truly enjoy the work you are doing.
Limiting outside distractions such as cheap entertainment, is what will allow us to be able to fully embrace our creativity and re-prioritize true art. Doing this will also significantly improve our lives and overall well being. We as a society gravitate towards cheap and easy distractions, and it negatively impacts our well being. Artificial Intelligence and cheap entertainment are things that take away from true art and creativity. Experiencing true art is what makes us feel the healthiest kind of dopamine, and our environment is a very vital part of experiencing this, as well as the practices we engage in.
Works Cited
Brooks, David. “The Junkification of American Life.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Sept. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/09/05/opinion/entertainment-junk-psychology.html.
Cusack Handler, Joan. “Art as a Path to Emotion.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/of-art-and-science/202008/art-as-a-path-to-emotion. Accessed 30 Sept. 2024.
Sima, Richard, et al. “Creativity and the Brain: How the Arts Can Shape Well-Being.” YouTube, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 2023, www.youtube.com/live/qhjBBr7am-E?feature=shared.
Sternberg, Robert J. The Nature of Creativity: Contemporary Psychological. Cambridge University, 1988.
Comments
Post a Comment