Social Media and the Spirit of ‘Creativism’: A gendered perspective

The above title is adopted with due respect to Max Weber (21 April 1864 – 14 June 1920) whose ‘Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism’ explained the rise of capitalism in northern Europe as a response to Protestant religious teachings (particularly Calvinist) that motivated the people to engage in work, trade and accumulation of wealth for investment and develop their own enterprises as a means to salvation. Let me explain it a little bit more for those uninitiated to the works of this great German sociologist and political economist.

Max Weber's thesis was a sharp critique of the Marxist premise that the economic structure determines all the other super structures like religion, politics, ideology, etc. He turned this theory upside down by declaring that the rise of capitalism was fueled by the Protestant work ethic. In other words, the Protestant work ethic was an important force behind the unplanned and uncoordinated mass action that influenced the development of capitalism in the early 20th century.

I see a similar connection between the evolution of the social media in the web 2.0 era and the rise of creativism (with due apologies for forging this term). In fact, social media has influenced the spirit of creativism in an unprecedented way by opening up several avenues to share any kind of content freely. Earlier, the only way to share stories, poems or any creative writing piece was through the print media. Only a privileged few had access to it and it was also a very costly option for those who dared to publish something on their own. But, not anymore with the arrival of the social media and other web 2.0 tools!

Social media started off as a great content, video, audio and photographs sharing tool. But, very soon, it evolved into a wonderful creative playground. It has led to the rise of unknown, but fabulous amateur photographers, audio and video content visualisers and producers and, above all, poets, story and travelogue writers. Its playing a very proactive role in bringing the latent talents of millions of people to the forefront in the glaring view of the whole world. What may have been a lonely poem shared with a couple of best friends in a street corner is now in the view of the huge online community.

I personally don’t know how Google plus is contributing in this respect, but just take a look at the groups and pages formed on Facebook or the content created and shared through www.blogger.com. There are many groups, pages and blogs dedicated solely to photography, poetry, travelogues, film reviews and stories. And, there is a lot of interesting stuff on the web that will keep you glued to them.

I am not going to use any examples here for the simple reason that I might not be able to do justice to selecting and sharing the best examples here. I am still exploring the vast web jungle during my leisure. I find this journey more adventurous and intricate than a journey through the Amazon or the rain forests of South East Asia! There is so much to see and savour, and I am just trudging through its periphery, making my way to its interior!

I was especially delighted to see the impact of social media on the creative side of the fairer sex, my own kind. Unknown homemakers, now, spend their leisure in sharing their poems, stories, film reviews and travelogues on Facebook and their personal blog sites. They are reveling in the praise, appreciation and encouragement that their online followers and friends are showering on them. I ‘like’ it in the true ‘Facebookian’ parlance!

Although I am not a member of all such groups or ‘like’ all the pages or ‘follow’ all the blogs, but Facebook’s live streaming feature makes it possible to steal a view if such content is shared publicly. One such poetess was complaining that, sometimes, she finds it very difficult to concentrate on her household work, which she feels is her primary responsibility, because every now and then, she is drawn towards Facebook to share whatever she managed to write during her free time. This tool has actually encouraged her to find free time to write amidst the daily chores. The ‘status update’ exuberated this new found freedom and pastime.

Now, a word about the content! The poems and stories are simply superb. They express everything from the latent feelings to love, emancipation, children, philosophy, mundane work and so on. The list is endless! And, they have managed to gather a good number of followers around them too. The most remarkable thing about such upcoming female writers and bloggers is that they are mostly homemakers, who utilize their leisure for creative pursuits within the walls of their homes. Interesting!