Having the capacity to notice things

This article is a follow up to my recent comic about the finely tuned antenna. And here’s the exact process I used to illustrate this essay (all you need is a pencil and a phone).

Recently, I was hanging out with some friends when someone mentioned burnout and shared that they were trying to figure out what it meant, because there’s this influencer who talks about burnout who keeps popping up on her feed. Three other women, including me, immediately chimed in that we knew exactly the influencer she was talking about. We also see this influencer’s burnout posts all the time.

This isn’t surprising, it’s just how social media networks work. Influencers influence. Media moves through social networks. But it was the first time I experienced a group discussing a meme of sorts (burnout) and tracing its origins (an influencer) in realtime, exposing the apparatus. It would have been so easy for all of us to discuss burnout without realizing that we were using that language and that lens because we had watched the same influencer use that language and that lens earlier that week.

The influence of social media (and other things we consume) is usually a bit more subtle. Over the course of weeks, people start scrunching their faces or gesturing in a certain way, a way that is unfamiliar and strange until all of a sudden it’s the norm and you’re doing it too. This isn’t wrong or bad, it’s all just to say that we humans are so easily influenced.

The phrase social media consumption is never really used in a positive way, but it’s also not inherently bad. Just like food consumption isn’t inherently good or bad. It’s just a matter of what and how much is being consumed. Is consuming something like social media about tuning into inspiration, or tuning out of discomfort and pain?

I’m hopeful about the fact that I’m easily influenced. If I’m aware that I’m always being influenced by my surroundings, I might be more inclined to tweak my routine and surroundings to influence me in ways I actually want to be influenced. I think of this as having a healthy creative diet. For example, spending time with people who treat others kindly or live healthy lifestyles inspires me to do the same. Reading a beautiful and poetic book will tune my antenna to interpret my experiences through the language and lens of author. I’ve noticed that if I read someone’s work closely or for long enough, I will naturally begin to emulate their writing style and notice things in my surroundings that they might have noticed. Perspectives are contagious!

If I’m aware of the fact that my friends and others around me are easily influenceable, wouldn’t I want to bestow them with influence of the highest quality possible? When I look at it this way, I see my creative diet not only as a service to myself, but as a responsibility toward everyone who’s in my sphere of influence.

The crazy thing about the informational roulette that is social media (tiktok and reels specifically) is that it introduces an incredible amount of noise that makes the metaphorical antenna-tuning pretty difficult. Perhaps it’s not as much an issue of being exposed to an absurd amount of new ideas in a day (new ideas are good, right?) but an issue of not giving one’s brain enough space to pick up on more subtle signals through all of that static noise. It’s about having the capacity to notice and interpret your internal and external experience—intentionally. This is what artists do.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of these ideas in the comments!

Thanks for reading The Museum of Small and Important Things! My name is Allie Sullberg and I’m an artist, writer, and illustrator. If you liked this post, a huge way to support my work is by liking, commenting, sharing, and of course subscribing!