The Algorithm Ate My Art
Being an artist is hard. Being seen? Even harder.
Being an artist is hard enough. Being seen as an artist? Even harder.
These days, social media platforms decide whether you’re worthy of attention — not based on your talent, but on how much you can perform, entertain, and expose yourself. (Don’t panic, not literally. No unsolicited nudes here!)
I get that audiences crave connection. But when did it become ‘normal’ for buyers to demand not just the artwork, but the guts, warts, and soul of the artist too? Since when does every purchase come with a free side of artist insecurities? No wonder we all keep burning out! We’re being triggered by this social demand and the fear of getting it wrong.
“Is this trending? Am I too old for this shit? Gahd, I’m knackered - why don’t we hibernate?”
Meanwhile, the big boys — Amazon, Disney, you name it — can hide their flaws behind billion-pound marketing machines. Even when they’re exposed, their customer base barely budges. Yet for small businesses and independent creatives? We’re constantly proving, performing, and pushing — and even then it’s not enough.
When giants like Amazon or Disney flop, they shrug it off. Amazon lost $170 million on its Fire Phone, and Disney have weathered controversy after controversy — yet their audiences barely blinked. Meanwhile, when a small artist posts one “boring” carousel or a “weak” reel, it feels like public execution. Tumbleweed! The gap in patience, resilience, and support between us and the industry giants? Massive. Them: shrug. Us: existential panic! Entertainment is currency.
The Soul Tax of Selling
“I trained in acting; now I make reels for the algorithm.”
Why isn’t the artwork itself enough?
Why do we need to make “funny reels” just to be seen?
Why is the industry standard now: “That’s just what you have to do, buddy. Deal with it.”?
I trained as an actor, so yes, I can clown with the best of them. And I do sometimes make reels that take the piss out of all this consistency, algorithm, tumbleweed-engagement nonsense — because life is tragic enough, (gut wrenchingly so) and I want to make people smile. But let’s be honest: I’m also neuro-spicy, so consistency is a fallacy to me, I have SUPER rejection sensitivity, so lack of engagement feels like a death by 1000 cuts, and oh… I WILL overshare too much, and then regret it 99% of the time… maybe 100%. Cue me at 2am questioning absolutely everything I’ve ever done!
(This will definitely happen after I post this too).
Still, I’ll spend hours filming, editing, writing copy, and nervously posting (and wondering, “Is NOW the right time to post to @StoofyStudio?! Aargh!”)— only for my audience to be a handful of loyal supporters - a couple of fellow creatives, my mate Alexx, and a bot from Azerbaijan. (I do appreciate it though!!)
Meanwhile, that’s hours I could’ve spent making actual artwork. Hours traded for seconds of interaction. And we’re told by the social media platforms and “social media gurus” that it’s part of the job. Starts to feel a bit 1984 if you ask me…
“I enjoy giving the odd freebie or bespoke piece when it feels right, and I’m always open to creative trades. They’re a lovely way to share skills, connect, and build a sense of community.”
Family, Friends, and the Excruciatingly Loud Silence…
“So, how’s Stoofy going?” – The question I now dread more than comments made about my weight.”
Family and friends can be surprisingly hard to get support from, and it’s soul-crushing. You know the ones… the quietest “mates” who suddenly want you to design something for them — ideally for free! And because I’m a people-pleaser, I’ve often relented — only to come away worse off financially and emotionally. Classic.
Honestly? It’s become so draining that I now dread the question in social situations: “So, how’s Stoofy going?”. Either I respond and start to see their eyes glaze over — or…
Cue a thousand unhelpful responses flashing through my brain…
“Why ask if you don’t care? You big, fat phony!”
“Oh! So you’ve seen all of my posts and new artwork?! Why no likey?!”
“Let’s add that question to the no-go list alongside ‘Wow, you’ve lost SO much weight, where’ve you gone?!’ and ‘Oh wow, you look tired and pale — are you unwell?’”
Psychology explains a lot of this: family and friends often don’t see creative work as “real work.” Add social pressure and fear, and silence becomes the default. They’d clap if I landed on TV, but scroll right past when I release a new collection.
That said, it’s not all doom and gloom! I’ve had genuine support from people who get Stoofy — friends who share posts, make small orders just to say, “I see you.” A customer who declared they wanted it all! (Did they buy anything? No… but that feeling alone nearly stopped me from quitting that day.)
The Tilted Playing Field
“Hours of work for a handful of likes. Or two… if you’re lucky.”
Meanwhile… companies like Amazon and Temu can ship any old toot, tat, and twelve variations of the same phone charger with no trouble. But small businesses? Shadow bans, shipping tariffs, overheads, endless algorithmic tweaks — and all the while being told to just “work harder.”
Small businesses used social media as a free exposure tool for years — and why not? It drives the economy! But the outlook has shifted: artists are closing their doors, unable to reach customers, drowning under the pressure of creating content instead of their craft.
It can certainly feel like it holds you back.
As someone who only gets to work my creative job part time, I feel the pressure to do social media more that evolving my art practice, improving my skills or developing new ideas for artwork. Instead, I’m brainstorming reel ideas, becoming too overwhelmed to navigate all the business platforms that could possibly serve me better. I’m not business-minded, and all the SEO and mailing list jargon makes me want to give up entirely. But… we need artists. We need artistic expression. Now more than ever - we need culture and examples of what the world could and should be. The arts bring people together. They challenge division. They purge and expose negativity. They promote humanity. They divert from groupthink. They champion individuality and creativity. They colour our bleak world.
Why This Matters
“Cut the arts in schools, and you cut the future.”
The arts are vanishing from schools. UK government spending on arts subjects in secondary schools has fallen by more than 40% since 2010, with drama teachers down 22% and music teachers down 15% in the same period (The Guardian, 2023).
If children are told the arts aren’t a “real career,” that only becomes true if we keep crushing creativity. As a former drama teacher, I know how vital creative outlets are: they teach social skills, problem-solving, empathy, and how to interact with the world — instead of staring endlessly at a bloody screen.
Take that away, and we’ll only be left with hundreds of thousands of the SAME TikTok dance, distorted, soulless AI pictures, deep fake scams and fascist propaganda. Trust me… Nobody wants that dystopia.
“Teaching creativity today keeps the world interesting tomorrow.”
In an ideal world, my art would be picked up by a fun, thoughtful gallery or collector. I’d grow my practice, go bigger, and push boundaries — because even if I was filthy rich, creativity is what I do best.
And I’d invest in the arts, give opportunities to younger generations, and show them that creativity and the arts are valid career paths — imperative in helping young people develop a balanced, considered view of the world and shaping a better future.
The arts are powerful and need to stick around. ‘Rude’ founders Abi & Rupert Meats have just released Create! How To Unleash Your Creative Superpowers (published by Hachette Childrens 2025), a brilliant book championing the creative industries aimed at children who might otherwise never know these career paths exist. It’s so very needed right now, and I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy and share it with my daughter.
The Choice
“Scroll through division, fear, and bile… or see some art. Some joy. Maybe a dog video or two.”
A simple algorithm that shadow bans artists may seem small. But its ripple effect is huge. Culture shrinks. Creativity dries up. The future tilts more into a hellscape.
The feeds are now full of fear mongering or reels of people telling other people how to get more follows, likes, etc. There’s a possibility that soon that’s all social media will be.
And yet, it’s not complicated. Scroll through endless division, fear, and bile… or see some art. Support it for free. Support real human beings. Support your friend’s ventures - you liking or sharing their posts does not mean they will rush out their door and rock up with your house with all their stock, asking you how much you’re gonna buy! It’s a gesture that supports and promotes their hard work. Simples.
Share some art that’s given you joy. Maybe a cute dog video or two…
I know what I’d rather my daughter see.
Art.
And dogs. 🐶 Always dogs.
If you felt this, please share it. Help keep artists visible — we’re fighting algorithms with paintbrushes. And if you want to see more of my artwork or “funny reels” stop by Stoofy. Thank you for reading!