Does creativity have a place in modern society? The more we look around the more we see society getting control of the elements and creating a more organized way of living. Will of the information and new ideas that have spilled out over the centuries one has to ask oneself, “Do we really need creativity in today’s society”? There are so many advances that is seems like maybe mankind is running out of ideas but in order to truly understand the way we feel it might be helpful to compare it to how people felt over a century ago. A century ago people were fascinated with steam power, perplexed by the idea of flight, and overwhelmed with what we could do with science. I imagine them thinking that there couldn’t be much more to invent or create beyond that. Well space became another frontier and we got computers to do a hundred thousand things we couldn’t do. So where are the boundaries and where are we heading? It really is hard to tell but we cannot discount the fact that creativity has defined our society since the stone age. With the new technology we are getting hundreds of new ideas every second of the day and it opens new possibilities that people would never have believed. So modernization is only a catalyst for creativity.
So what are some of the hindrances of creativity? One of the major setbacks is restrictions from government or not enough protection of ideas given by the government. We all know that governing a large body of people is not easy task and comes with a lot trial and error. Another major inhibiter is the institutional road blocks placed in front of all of us when we enter the school system. There are so many pushes to teach children to conform and to be disciplined. In some ways we stifle creativity by telling kids that this is the right way and there is only one to make things work. At the same time there those who fight the system with their creativity and become an anomaly. There are other things that stifle creativity, from organizations hammering down the “nail that stands out” to people being promoted for being just like their boss. The idea of clones kind of scares us and yet that is what we force in our system today. It is just a breeding ground for similar thinking.
So why not choose a path that could lead to creative thinking such as an art director, musician, or photographer? Sometimes these positions are not as respected in our culture and are becoming more and more of a hobby than actual prestigious positions. This may lead to huge concerns in the future as we begin to see a homogenous way of thinking that begins to destroy society inside and out. You may wonder how the lack of creativity could possibly be that big of a deal. Well what do you think problem solving is? What do you think politics is all about? There are so many different facets in which to use creativity and if you feel like becoming an art director is not your thing just see how you can use it in your career now.