Catherine: Commentary on Social Media

Social media certainly isn’t everything to me, but I’d be lying if I said that it wasn’t a large part of who I am. Twitter is where I immediately hear breaking news regarding music, politics, or current events before even my parents do. Instagram is where I share life updates (the best parts, of course) surrounding school, my friends, events I attend, and more.

Between the two, I have to say that I am definitely more thankful for Twitter. Any time a middle-aged person tells me that my generation is going downhill fast, and that we’ve lost our ability to form human connections, I laugh, because I know that is certainly not the case. As a teenager growing up in the 21st century, I am often overcome by a sense of pride at the compassion my peers are able to exhibit regarding social issues and injustices that they fight to change. Some of the youngest activists in our world at the moment are under the age of 25 (take Malala Yousafzai, for example). I’m eternally grateful for the platform it gives me to share my writing and even publish it online. It also allows me to stay informed, open to listening to different perspectives, and always ready to learn about art and culture.

I believe one of the only downsides to sharing art through the interweb is the lack of a “wow” factor when viewing or listening to art. Going to a symphony or seeing the Mona Lisa in person will never be the same as listening to or viewing the art online. Despite this, it’s vital that museums build an online presence, to stay updated with the current generation as well as teach about the relevance of art to the past and the future. I’m excited to help Art Speak and the Asian Art Museum as a whole reach out to people my age and draw more visitors to the museum through promoting new exhibits and posting photos online!