Social Media and Arts Abstract

In an era where digital technologies increasingly mediate human interaction, the concept of community, particularly within the arts has undergone significant transformation. Once grounded in physical spaces and face-to-face collaboration, creative communities now frequently emerge and operate within online environments. Social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have become integral to how artists, performers, and musicians connect, share their work, and reach audiences. While these platforms offer opportunities for visibility and participation, they also introduce new forms of moral panic and surveillance that complicate traditional understandings of creative collaboration and production.

This paper critically examines the role of social media in shaping contemporary arts communities, with a focus on themes of connection, disconnection, and identity. Drawing on the work of theorists such as Gerard Delanty and Manuel Castells, and reflecting on the impact of global disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic, the discussion explores how digital platforms facilitate community whilst also provoking moral panic about the issues of “authentic” interaction. Through this lens, the paper considers whether social media represents a positive digital transformation for the arts community or a fragmentation of its core values.

A New Era of Connection and Isolation in the Arts

In today’s increasingly digital world, the way communities form and interact has shifted dramatically. Where once community was built through face-to-face interactions and shared physical spaces, it is now often shaped through social media platforms and online networks. For the arts community, spanning visual artists, performers, musicians and creatives these digital spaces have become powerful tools for visibility, collaboration, and self-expression. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook have allowed artists to connect globally and cultivate new audiences within the current digital landscape. However, this shift has also sparked ongoing concern and debate. At the centre of this discussion is a moral panic about the impacts of social media on individualism and human connection. Creatives and critics argue that these platforms have contributed to a decline in genuine social bonds, reduced meaningful engagement, and promoted an individualistic, image driven culture. Within arts communities, which traditionally rely on collaboration, intimacy, and shared experience, the fear is that online spaces may replace these deeper connections. This paper explores the dual role of social media in empowering and fragmenting arts communities. It asks: is social media helping or harming the fabric of creative community life? By examining both the benefits and challenges, this discussion will engage with broader concerns about digital culture, moral panic, and the evolving nature of artistic collaboration in an online world.

Social Media: Empowering Arts Communities and Amplifying Voices

Social media has become an essential tool for the growth and visibility of arts communities across the globe. Platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook have allowed artists, performers, and creatives to directly reach wide and diverse audiences. These platforms not only provide a global stage for artists to thrive and connect, but they also facilitate a space for artistic expression, allowing voices from diverse backgrounds and niche communities to gain visibility. As Delanty notes, “Information and communication technologies have created powerful new expressions of community that go far beyond all hitherto known forms of community”,(Delanty,2018, p.200). By connecting individuals with shared interests and passions, these platforms have opened up opportunities for collaboration and exposure that were once limited by geographical and social boundaries. Manuel Castell a communication theorist (Delanty, 2018), speaks upon identity and how social media provides a space for networking individualism, “The significance of virtual communities is that they give form to this kind of individualism[……]virtual community is, in its most important function, based on networks of diverse people, allowing them to add a new dimension”. (Delanty, 2018, p. 212). Castells highlights how virtual communities, including those within the arts, provide individuals with the opportunity to create and share their personal identities, which may otherwise remain unseen. This hybrid form of connection enables individuals within arts communities to create a multiplication of identities that are both shaped by and shaping of the virtual environment in which they engage. By providing a platform for creative expression and self-presentation, social media allows individuals to voice artistic ideas, allowing them to claim spaces for their identities that might otherwise have been inaccessible.

Navigating Authenticity and Community in the Digital Arts amidst Moral panic

The increasing dominance of social media in arts communities has triggered a moral panic, with critics fearing the scarcity of traditional face-to-face relationships and the rise of shallow connections fostered by platforms like Instagram and TikTok, ultimately threatening social solidarity and the authenticity of creative expression within the arts. The creative economy as reported by the UN Trade and Development have demonstrated that these sectors have expeditiously grown with the key trend that includes “the rise of digital platforms and streaming services, increasing cross-industry collaborations”, (United Nations Trade and Development, 2024, p.1). This shift has led to an expansion of global artistic networks, but also created concerns over the loss of meaningful, in person creative interactions and the potential commodification of art through social media algorithms, which prioritise virality and engagement over authenticity and depth of expression. Global reports have supported this stating that although there has been a rise in social media within the art and creative sector, “Digitalization in the creative industries raises new concerns, particularly regarding market concentration and competition challenges…[ …]..they also raise concerns about quality, copyright, privacy, and content monopolization”. (United Nations Trade and Development, 2024, p.1). Critics have viewed these shifts as concerns about what this can been for the broader social impact on communities with the preface that face-to-face interaction is seen as more authentic and meaningful than digital engagement. Hampton and Wellman add, “the moral panicers have seized on this technology as the latest cause of lost community, pointing with alarm to what digital technologies are doing to relationships” (Wellman & Hampton, 2018, p.643). The fear is that online interactions lack the depth and emotional resonance of face-to-face connections, potentially leading to more fragmented and less emotionally fulfilling communities. 

Additionally the introduction of platforms and technology has had “widespread affordances for persistent contact and pervasive awareness that have the potential to fundamentally change the structure of community”. The constant connectivity enabled by digital platforms means that relationships can be maintained more easily, but it also brings up concerns about the authenticity and quality of these relationships. Traditional artistic communities, whether through local galleries, theatre spaces, or music collectives, have historically thrived on face-to-face interaction, collaboration, and the sharing of ideas in physical spaces with other noting that the “arts sector in particular has experienced multiple challenges in producing and reaching audiences”, (Webb & Layton, 2023, p.34). As artists engage with their audiences on platforms like Instagram or TikTok, the emotional and artistic depth that often arises from in person creative processes may be compromised, leading to concerns over the commodification of art and a decline in the quality of connections within the arts.

However, instead of focusing on the loss of spatially bound communities, scholars such as Delanty propose an understanding of community in the digital age as he argues, “What is consequently stressed is less community consisting of spatially limited ties and obligations than community in terms of constructing identities and offering opportunities for social networking, which may give rise to different kinds of solidarities.”,(Delanty, 2018, p.217) .This view is particularly relevant to the arts, where identity, expression, and networking often transcend geographic limitations. Rather than replacing authentic community, digital platforms are enabling artists to construct meaningful identities and solidarities in new and creative ways. The rise of digital platforms has provided artists with the tools to have connections with individuals from diverse backgrounds, leading to the creation of global networks. These platforms facilitate a form of community that is no longer confined by physical space, but rather by shared interests, aesthetics, and collaborative goals.

The Role of Social Media – COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically shifted the way the arts sector operated, forcing artists, performers, and creators to adapt to new ways of connecting with their audiences (Cinelli et al.,2020). During this time, social media became a crucial tool for empowerment, providing a platform for artists to continue expressing themselves and engaging with global audiences despite physical restrictions, “The world was interconnected through digital technologies, which were widely..[..]…convey information”, it also aimed to “provide diversion, solace and inspiration”, (Jeannotte, 2021, p.1). These technologies bridged the gap between physical isolation and creative expression, enabling artists to maintain a sense of connection with their communities. Social media platforms allowed for the continued sharing of creative work, collaboration, and engagement with fans, expanding the reach of artistic communities in ways that were previously impossible. This is particularly evident in the rise of virtual communities that emerged during the pandemic, where artists could overcome physical boundaries and create new digital spaces for dialogue and artistic exchange. “Twenty-first century technological advances have enabled the development of live digital performance that incorporates gaming and immersive technologies into the theatrical performance” (Webb & Layton, 2021, p.38). With the advancement of technology, artists embraced new forms of digital performance, including gaming and immersive technologies, which contributed to reshaping how art is consumed and shared through online communities and networks. 

Furthermore social media since the pandemic has been an essential networking tool for young artists, with reports demonstrating that 90% of creatives under the age of 35 state that social media and digitalisation has been a significant factor to their professional growth (Cosimo, 2025), illustrating how digital platforms have been central to the growth and visibility of new talent in the arts. Delanty advocates the idea that the internet has broken down physical boundaries, enabling the formation of new communities, “The Internet certainly destroys the‘tyranny of distance’and makes possible communication across vast spaces; it can support the creation of new communities”,(Delanty, 2018, p.648). Within the context of the arts, this concept resonates deeply, as the digital era has facilitated the creation of global, virtual communities that foster creative exchange, collaboration, and support. Artists are no longer confined to their local scenes but can now engage with a broader, more diverse audience, creating opportunities for artistic innovation and global partnerships.

Digitalisation on Collaboration and Community in the Arts

Social media plays a complex role in arts communities by facilitating connection and networking, yet it often prioritises individual interests over collective goals. This shift towards networked individualism can weaken genuine community bonds, as interactions become more transactional and less about fostering meaningful relationships. This shift towards networked individualism weakens genuine community bond, “Online communities are simply fluid aggregates of networked individuals, incidences of ‘networked individualism’. By being highly individualistic in nature, this approach strips the term ‘community’ of its strong sense of collectivity”. (Delanty, 2018, p.220). By artists being highly individual within this stream of digitalisation, the collaborative nature of the arts, which traditionally thrives on collective engagement and shared experiences, risks being shadowed by personal branding and self-promotion. Artists then focus on cultivating their own digital identities where the emphasis on community driven creativity diminishes, shifting the arts from being a collective expression to a more isolated, artists have demonstrated that “In today’s digital age, personal branding is essential for any creative looking to build a successful career”. (Archetti, 2025, para. 10).This emphasis on personal branding further fractures the idea of collaboration and community that the arts traditionally had thrive on, turning the use of a creatives role on social media platforms into a more individualised, market based activity. This shift has also had an effect upon the way audiences on these platforms engage with art. “This ambivalence also influences the feelings of a spectator, who becomes distanced from their own aesthetic reflection and becomes a decentralized subject of aesthetic perception”, (Safina et al., 2020, p.264). The result is that spectators are no longer connecting with the art on a personal, emotional level but instead are engaging with it through the lens of branding and individual identity. Instead of fostering a sense of shared experience, the digital age often isolates artists and audiences, reinforcing individualism over collaboration and community. Anna Heimkreiter a creative, comments their experience with audience engagement noting “As artists, we want people to engage with our work on a deeper level, truly taking it in…[…]..most people will simply scroll past, at most leaving a quick, insignificant like”, (Heimkreiter, 2022, para. 5). This transactional approach to art consumption contrasts with the authentic, emotional connections that traditionally defined creative communities. While virtual communities and networks on online spaces can provide new avenues for connection, they often reinforce individualistic behaviours and lowered audience engagement which destroy sense of collective engagement transforming the way art is consumed and experienced.

Social media has transformed arts communities, offering both opportunities and challenges. While it has expanded the reach of artists, enabling global connections and fostering creative expression, it has also contributed to the rise of networked individualism. This shift emphasises personal branding over collective collaboration, diminishing the traditional, community driven nature of the arts. The increased focus on self-promotion risks overshadowing the shared, intimate experiences that have historically defined artistic creation. As digital platforms continue to play a dominant role in the artistic landscape, it remains essential to strike a balance between individuality and collaboration, ensuring that the essence of artistic community is not lost in the pursuit of visibility and marketability. This ongoing debate about the role of social media in the arts highlights the complexities of modern creative life and its impact on both artists and audiences.

References

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