Growing up in the late 2000s and early 2010s came with a plethora of new and exciting media advancements that took over my memories as a kid. My earliest memory of digital technology begins through this vague memory of being around 2-3 years old, which resurfaced into my brain when my mother brought it up a couple of years ago in conversation. In this memory, I am standing in front of a big square television that we had in the apartment, dancing to the MTV channel playing the music video of “Californication” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. My mother used to tell me that I would beg the nanny to play this song, and I would copy the singers by holding up the rock sign while dancing to the video; she never understood why I loved it so much, but I believe little me was just trying to curate an exceptional music taste.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication (Official Music Video) [HD UPGRADE]
Coincidentally, another one of my earliest memories of digital media was watching music videos of my favorite songs on YouTube. Every time I had the opportunity to use the family’s computer, I would beg my parents to let me watch music videos and listen to songs by Justin Bieber or Selena Gomez. Maybe YouTube and I had an early connection to each other because we were born on the same day and year (February 14th, 2005), but I hold these early memories close to my heart, and I believe they have paved my way into understanding what my passions are. I’ve always felt a great connection with music and the creative arts because it always made me feel the most myself.
Selena Gomez & The Scene – Love You Like A Love Song
Not too long ago, while hanging out with my friends, we found ourselves watching music videos on YouTube. The moment felt nostalgic, it reminded me of when content felt more artistic rather than consumeristic, but it also reminded me of what I would do when I was bored as a kid. We watched old music videos that we grew up with, connecting our different pasts through videos that made us happy as kids. However, while checking the decline in views of these videos compared to the amount of views they used to receive 10-15 years ago, I immediately asked myself: when did we stop enjoying music videos as a form of content/entertainment? Now with social media platforms such as Instagram or TikTok, we have the ability to watch content of our favorite singers with much more frequency than ever before, but is this worth it? We’ve changed our attention towards content that is more constant, but at the same time less creative or entertaining, so as to be able to know what our favorite singers are doing at all times.
Artists Are Complaining About Their Record Labels Forcing Them To Make TikToks
Going back into YouTube music videos brought me back into understanding why I was so passionate about them when I was younger; I found this type of art extremely inspiring and creative. In many ways, it helped singers demonstrate their abilities as visual innovators; which was why everything took longer to present to the world, because it required more creativity and effort than the content we see today. However, as technology grows faster, and artists are being demanded more content as a consequence of society’s shortening of attention span and patience, this art form has drastically lost importance.
By acknowledging this, are we deliberately accepting the rapid loss of this creative content? If so, how could we bring back our need for quality-curated entertainment?
Award-winning director and photographer Olivia Rose, who’s worked with artists such as Jorja Smith, Lola Young, J.Cole, and even collaborated with Adidas, says that “It’s about re-addressing the music video as the art form it is.” By making less content, but making it of higher quality, Rose believes that society might be capable of reviving this art form. Other representatives of these music video directors believe that this decline is a representation of the industry “recalibrating” itself, which was caused by the outburst of new media: “The TikTok stuff won’t stick in people’s memories for 40 years, that’s for sure.”
In the end, will our early memories of music videos save society’s creative paths in the future? Or are we doomed?
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