Does Social Media and Reality Television Retard Creativity?

A few months prior to the stroke of midnight on NYE 2011, I started making some lifestyle changes. I'm not a fan of new years resolutions. I believe that whatever success I'll experience I must commit myself to daily practice. My personality, behavior and mindset is not going to change at the the flip of the switch.

As a result of my not so new epiphany, I am doing a personal experiment. It involves adjusting my personal and professional priorities and deactivating my Facebook page temporarily. A part of me believes that it's not healthy to be so involved in other people's lives, especially when it's only the snap shot and highlights.

Reality television and social networking is all broadcast through some form of media. Media (Television, Radio, Internet, Magazines, etc) have long been the shaping tools of the masses.

Year to year, month to month, day to day, people are being "told" how to dress, how to look, how to talk and comparing their lives with others. My calling and trade requires me to be creative. Not only that, without the thoughts of others, your forced to form your own thoughts, ask your own questions and create your own identity instead of one being force fed to you.


I also question, how productive one can be when spending countless hours on social networking sites and watching reality television. Speaking from experience, I've logged onto Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc and looked up to find too much valuable time had passed. Afterwards, I felt unproductive and guilty.

Of course this is not true for all people, but it seems to be a growing trend. So I'll check back in on this personal issue in about 30 days to see if I notice any measurable difference.

In addition to cutting certain habits off and shifting certain elements of my life around, it's important to seed those areas with important nutrients. For me involves: more prayer, more quiet time to listen to the author of creativity--my Heavenly Father, listening to my husband and investing in relationships that bear continual fruit in my life, constant experimentation and greater leaps of faith.

I'm looking forward to becoming a better version of me.

Kristen
@kristenlpopetv