Social Media as a Passport to the contemporary world

I find it interesting how social media has taken such an important part of our everyday life. Outside of the discussions of whether they stifle everyday interaction or change our engagement with the social world, they are also an invaluable way of interacting with the contemporary world.

I myself am not particularly good at using social media, and do wonder sometimes how I can get more than 30 views on my blog posts, or more 5 likes on a tweet. Regardless of that, I am also eager to participate on social media platforms. There is a wealth of opportunities of interaction, and wealth of knowledge on these platforms. It also appears to me that these digital platforms can also be the ground for cooperation and discussion and as such, why not consider them?

I am currently reading a book on Ai Weiwei (Ai Weiwei speaks) in which he discusses subjects from art and architecture, to philosophy and digital culture. For those who are not familiar with the artist, he is a Chinese  artist, whose work has been both recognised internationally, but also highly controversial in his home-country (link to bio).

His approach is one of merging political issues with artistic creation. Both are can serve as fuel of thought on the other. In his own words, "everything is art, everything is politics" (from the book Weiwei-isms). I find this statement really important – in the Anthropocene especially – but also a source of inspiration in our creative and politically engaging endeavours.

Beyond that, if blogging is a way not just of interpreting and presenting reality, but also to create realities, then social media becomes our passport to different realities, different worlds. And maybe we should take advantage of that.

Here's a quote from Ai Weiwei highlighting that change needs to start from the present and into the future:

"we're actually a part of the reality, and if we don't realise that, we are totally responsible. We are a productive reality. We are the reality, but part of reality means that we need to produce another reality"

– Ai Weiwei speaks, p. 7