Why are we letting algorithms rewrite the rules of art, work, and life?
Thea Lim explores how technology and algorithms have distorted our sense of self-worth and artistic value in the digital age. She reflects on personal experiences, like roller-skating for joy until the pressure of external judgment made her stop. This shift, from intrinsic joy to external validation, mirrors her later experiences as a writer. Once driven by personal fulfillment, her work became subject to metrics like book sales and social media engagement, detaching her from her internal sense of worth.
Lim examines how algorithms now quantify even our most personal activities, from friendships to art, making it hard to escape external judgments. She argues that digital tools have gamified life, turning every action into data, reducing self-worth to a constant comparison of numbers. Despite this, she emphasizes that the act of creating art can offer a form of renewal, even as the market commodifies personal experiences. Ultimately, Lim grapples with the tension between producing for oneself and being evaluated by the ever-present digital economy.
Discussion (2)
Makes me think that the joy of creating is getting lost in the shuffle of online approval. Anyone else feel like they stopped doing things they love just because they weren’t "successful" online?
I used to post my photography just for fun, but now if I don’t get 100 likes in the first hour, im like, "what’s the point?".. .as stupid as that sounds.
Its not even about the art anymore, its about beating the algorithm. I have to remember that these are two independent things.