The last few articles I have written have left me feeling guilty. It feels weird to talk about spring trends or holiday recipes when wars are erupting throughout the world, entire nations are starving, and our Earth is rapidly approaching a point of no return. I find myself asking the question that I think many of us are asking currently: why does it have to be this way?
While I could dedicate a year’s worth of articles to answering this question, it is nearly impossible to find a concrete answer to such a question. It is hard to push past these feelings of guilt, but I think part of the reason for producing these simple, fun, quick articles stems from this guilt. I feel underqualified to discuss any global issues, but keeping silent on such topics leads to a creative block that yields articles that I am not truly proud of. The reality is, genocides, oppression, and corruption are occurring at rapidly increasing rates, and it can feel like the world is closing in on us.
Today, however, I will pivot this conversation to a happier space by discussing creativity. While it is certainly difficult to push past the mental turmoil associated with the whys of societal controversies to a more creative mental space, it is not impossible.
Creativity seems to be a lost art in today’s world, and honestly? I’m not surprised. Between the emergence of “hustle-culture”, the rise in social media usage and general content consumption, the constant looming deadlines and bills, or simply the state of the world, there’s a lot to focus on.
There’s a term for what is occurring, and it’s called the “Creativity Crisis.” Essentially, the creativity rates among children and adults have been on the decline since 1990, and it seems as though in the world in which we live, we have lost the creativity that brought us to today. Consider that the wheel, tools, and irrigation would not have been invented without the irresistible human curiosity that fuels creation.
However, in unprecedented times, it can be hard to find any creative energy or even energy for other aspects of life. It is impossible to predict what is going to happen day to day, and this unpredictability is extremely harmful to our well-being. When we are living in a state of uncertainty, it creates an unstable dynamic in our minds. This is even more ensured when we consider the speed and sheer volume of content we absorb every day.
While there is not one official way to “increase creativity”, there are a few tips and tricks I have found that make creators block easier to navigate.
Regarding the so-called “Creativity Crisis”, the lost art of slowing down has contributed greatly to such a crisis, as living in a society that prioritizes speed and convenience can drain us of any creative energy our phones didn’t steal from us already. Trends are constantly changing, and consumers often desire the quickest, cheapest option, as a result of consumerism. It can be easy to lose the spark to create when Five Below is selling mass-produced ceramics, AI plagues substack essays, and Hobby Lobby sells crochet flowers for a fraction of the price.
It can be difficult for creators to justify labor that requires the act of slowing down and produces art that possesses less noticeable input. Furthermore, it is tempting for many creators to simply cave to the expectations of society with respect to the most convenient or cheapest alternative, especially in a society of economic unpredictability.
However, the beauty of creation in today’s society is that it honors every generation before us’s dedication to the craft, slowing down to create something meaningful, that can be sustained for generations to come. Creation takes time; whether its artistry, writing, designing, crafting, or even baking! It can be difficult to slow down in 2026, but acknowledging the role creativity has played in the advancements in society since the beginning of time can certainly assist the motivation to do so. Oftentimes, it is the act of slowing down that yields the best results in the creative practice.
One of the biggest limiting factors to our ability to slow down, as much as I hate to admit it, is that damn phone. When I start my day off with excessive content consumption, usually what follows is a spiral of thoughts regarding what I absorbed during my morning of doom-scrolling, and it’s hardly ever good.
This is expected in a social media environment of endless scrolling of short-form content, that unknowlingly contributes to this unstable dynamic in our minds as previously mentioned. Setting screen time for yourself on your phone is a great start to cutting down on screen time. While I still have the power to override the screen time, having it helps me to remember I am trying to lower my content consumption.
Another trick I use is to literally hide the app from myself. Yes thats right, I put the app on the third page of a random categorized tab and try to forget about it. Even when I inevitably remember the app, especially TikTok, how could I not, the act of searching creates the association in my mind that it is hidden for a reason.
While cutting down screen time can be difficult, it’s not impossible. In doing so, I personally found more time in the day, shocker. Less obviously, I have been sleeping better and have experienced a more regulated nervous system. Some days, I ignore the limit four times before I finally put Instagram down for the day, but it’s all in the act of trying.
Ultimately, we cannot let society’s impossible expectations hinder our creativity; while we may live in an unpredictable world where our time is limited, creativity lives within us, and creative practices are critical to each individual’s self-actualization journey.
The consensus of my non-professional advice is to hide social media from yourself, take more photos, read more, ditch the phone & be present, write down quotes and ideas in your notes app, journal, doodle, and create!!!