How technology enhances creativity

One touch.

One touch of a button is all there is that separates you from the world unknown. One touch is all it takes to find success. One touch is all that separates you from the drawing room heroes. One touch is all it takes to unleash your imagination and let it run wild! Let your creativity be on display for the world to see! Justin Bieber. Love him or hate him, you simply can’t ignore him! As a 13 year old he became an internet sensation and found his ticket to stardom onYoutube.

Today, a billionaire at 19, with 34 million followers, he attributes his entire success to technology. Malala Yousufzai, a young educational activist who found wide appeal for her blogs on girls’ education in Pakistan. Time and again we see that children find have found avenues to display their creative skills via technology. It is most irrational to equate the computer with its addictive and abusive use of the internet with technology. What we need to recognize here is that there is far more under the scope of technology ..

.. come to think of it the pen and paper are also a form of technology without which we’d still be drawing on cave walls! From dipping quills in ink to typewriters to Smart phones and tablet devices, we’ve evolved, as has our creativity. The only difference being the transition from the stone tablet to Galaxy tab. In my opinion, technology doesn’t hinder creativity, rather enhances it.

Technology is an outlet for creativity. Graphics, animation, video editing, music production, DJ systems , simulation software are newer more sophisticated ways of refining our art. Much scorned at by our elders, our generation pours our efforts into framing that perfect tweet in 140 letters, uploading that video of our hairstyle tutorial, and posting that heartfelt poem on our blog and they complain that our creativity is being dampened? Is our creativity being dampened when we receive a positive response from thousands of people rating and reviewing our online essay? Is our creativity being dampened when our uploaded video goes viral ? Is our creativity being dampened when our remixed songs become popular nationwide? Is our creativity being dampened when we learn to play the piano over the internet ? Is our creativity being dampened when we showcase our oratory abilities on a reality show ? I say our creativity is being enhanced more and more. Technology has allowed me to express myself in ways that my artistically disabled self was never able to express myself before. Technology will not live up to its potential until we start to think of it less like televisions and more like paintbrushes.

That is, we need to start seeing computer screens not simply as information machines, but also as a new medium for creative design and expression. The more we learn about the abilities of computers the more creative we become. Why is it that today’s children are more attracted to video games than comic books? A huge amount of thought, creativity and art has gone into designing those visual effects. Isn’t the video game artistic in itself? And ultimately the evolution of modern technology has itself been a creative endeavor. I believe technology should not be considered an intimidating factor but as a potential platform. Technology and art open doors for us to learn, create and share, there are wonderful things out there calling out to us and inviting us to participate to be inspired and to inspire!