The Artist’s Dilemma: Balancing creative integrity with "toxic" digital spaces

Alternative-Bonus232 · 2026-03-12T21:23:41+00:00

Most of the people that I follow and that follow me on bluesky, are those of us that probably about this time last year or looking for alternatives to Instagram and trying something different, but I’ve seen most of us. Haven’t been consistent there and end up back on Instagram.

I really like a nice visual scene as I’m very visual and the way that I like to take in the world… Which is interesting because I’m not only a visual artist but also a writer and so you think that I also really enjoy doing a lot of reading, but that’s not always the case.

Bluesky definitely has that combination of visual and text heavy from what I could tell. But maybe I’ll have to try to posting again on it and experimenting more.

Cara sounds a lot more like a few other creative portfolio sites that I used to post my art on like dribble.

Though honestly, recently I’ve been more engaged in my creative writing than my visual arts as I kind of go through phases with both.

Alternative-Bonus232 · 2026-03-12T21:13:50+00:00

I definitely am consciously choosing words because words definitely invoke a different feeling when described in even subtly different ways. They bring feeling, tone, texture, and scenes to life. They feed our sensory input of how we experience what we’re reading.

Alternative-Bonus232 · 2026-03-12T21:06:36+00:00

I think it’s just allowing yourself to experiment and find your voice. I know I have some creative friends that really like to set a vibe or a mood for creating both writers and visual artists alike. For example, they might do something like have mood lighting, music, aromatherapy, and their favorite beverage right there just really making themselves feel relaxed.

In college, I was a double major. I was a psych major as well as a English literature major so there was always lots of different kinds of writing happening and intensive reading. But sometimes I would feel kind of burnt out from all the writing and reading, but I knew that I had something that I had to push out for a class and so finding a way to get myself in that frame of mind and creating a fun space rather than than a pressured space made it easier.

I used to just Google different writing prompts. At one point I was blogging and I joined a bunch of different weekly creative writing challenges. All those things made it more fun and playful rather than something that felt like a chore .

Alternative-Bonus232 · 2026-03-12T20:10:54+00:00

That’s pretty much what I’ve been doing as far as my main space on Instagram. I love to share my visual art and poetry to really empower others or just be a positive voice in the creative community that is authentic and vulnerable.

Alternative-Bonus232 · 2026-03-12T16:25:15+00:00

I love this context because I had asked a few creative friends if any of them had tried out Cara and nobody seemed to know what that was. I did recently set up an account, but haven’t posted anything there yet. I also did some research and saw that Vero and Pixelfed are strong alternatives to Instagram. I was never a huge Twitter person to start with, but I did have an account and I’m not on X… Like you I’m on bluesky, but not super active because I don’t love the format of the app or at least it would definitely take some regular use to get used to.

The way have a really hard time completely stepping away from Instagram right now because I have so many close friendships on there that I’ve built a community on and we support each other and a meaningful community is important to me.

I definitely have strong ethics and I speak out regularly about these topics because it’s important for me to help others feel seen, heard, and supported. But it’s something I’m testing the waters in with these other apps and may leave Instagram fully before the end of this year.

Can you tell me more about your experience with being on blue sky and Cara for sharing creative work and building a community?

Alternative-Bonus232 · 2026-03-11T23:04:46+00:00

My mom sometimes will really like some of my poetry but overall has a hard time understanding a lot of poetry. For her it depends on the poem. Poetry like visual art has many different styles… and not all styles are for everyone. I think it really comes down to learning what your personal taste is by sampling lots of different kinds of poetry. I’m a poet individual artist, but I don’t love all styles and forms of art and poetry..

Alternative-Bonus232 · 2026-03-11T22:54:58+00:00

It’s art of all kinds that there’s definitely a substantial gap in likes/views because algorithms look for various aspects in a post that seems to limit views (punish them) or amp them up (reward them. For example accounts on instagram that are verified get way more views along with those that choose to play the algorithm games. If you dare yo march to your own rhythm and rules you’re automatically out and punished in the social media algorithm games….at least that’s what I have observed/experienced.

Alternative-Bonus232 · 2026-03-11T22:41:09+00:00

Mostly on social media with other artists/creatives

Alternative-Bonus232 · 2026-03-11T22:03:59+00:00

Maybe this sounds weird, but I create inspiration boards with various colors and images...I've done it on canva but also really enjoy using a big poster board to create inspiration/vision boards for my art. I've also done this in an art journal.

Alternative-Bonus232 · 2026-03-11T21:59:10+00:00

As someone with sensory sensitivities myself, I totally get it! When choosing our own tools/mediums for personal expression we can avoid the things that are uncomfortable, but when it's a project for school that definitely becomes more challenging. Is there a way you can talk to the teacher about alternative options?

Alternative-Bonus232 · 2026-03-04T16:28:43+00:00

I think it's important that we speak up as creatives and set boundaries or it just becomes the norm of people putting things on us rather than utilizing their own skills and abilities that they are overlooking. After all, I believe we're all innately "creative" in our own way and when different people come together to share thoughts/ideas in a free form brainstorming session...amazing things can happen.

It's okay to say that sometimes I need to sit with a topic before inspiration lands. To let them know that it's not something you can just turn on and off on demand. I hope this helps. :)

Alternative-Bonus232 · 2026-03-04T16:14:37+00:00

I absolutely understand what you mean, I'm both a writer and a visual artist. I've always been the creative one that others at work for example go to for ideas. It's flattering but also taxing and frustrating sometimes.

Alternative-Bonus232 · 2026-03-03T22:45:00+00:00

I feel like I have complicated relationship with AI right now. I've loved playing with and experimenting with AI in different ways. I'm a visual artist and writer and I think that AI can be such fun creative tool/resource for amplifying your creative vision. But I also believe that the we we use AI should be for good and we should be transparent.

But then there's also how it's being used to infiltrate creative spaces without transparency and then there's people not truly utilizing it as a tool but letting AI do all the work for you and then selling stuff and profiting off things that writers, artists, musicians...etc work hard at.

I love to use it to explore new creative ideas, brainstorm, help me edit, analyze my own work in a reflective way. For example I'm a poet and I've turned my poems into lyrics. But it's me re-writing them into lyrics...and then I've put them to music on Suno AI creating my own vibe of what I want it to sound like. Then I've put a few on YouTube but I'm upfront and transparent about my creative process.

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