Creativity as a Counterbalance to Constant Entertainment
26 June, 2026Just as the body benefits from movement and physical effort, the brain needs to be challenged through creativity. We live in a time where entertainment and instant stimulation are available around the clock via mobile phones, computers, and television. If we constantly consume—such as by scrolling on our phones—but rarely produce, our creative abilities risk becoming weakened.
Many digital services are designed to capture and hold our attention for as long as possible. Social media and video games offer quick rewards through a continuous stream of stimuli, and most people have at some point found themselves stuck watching short videos for one, two, or even three hours. At the same time, activities such as writing, painting, or learning a craft can feel slow and demanding—but they often provide a more lasting sense of fulfillment.
The problem is not that we use our phones for entertainment, but that this type of consumption easily crowds out other parts of life. We live in a time where many things compete for our attention, while creative work requires time, focus, and persistence. As a result, there is a risk that making things gets pushed aside, even though it is often both more developmental and more meaningful in the long run.
Creative pursuits turn us into creators rather than just consumers. Creating something—whether it involves writing, composing music, photographing, designing a garden, or cooking from a recipe—requires presence, problem-solving, and independent thinking. These are abilities that easily get overshadowed when a large part of our free time is spent consuming the work of others.
I Don’t Always Practice What I Preach
I have personally spent a great deal of time on social media over the years. YouTube launched in 2005, and over the past twenty years I have spent thousands of hours watching videos. Had I used that time for my business instead, my income would likely be higher today. Had I instead devoted it to gardening or oil painting—well, you get the idea.
At the same time, it would be misleading to call all of this wasted time. I have learned a lot through YouTube—from practical skills and new perspectives to knowledge in areas I might otherwise never have encountered. The platform has also helped me follow social developments, discover new ideas, and stay up to date with the world around me.
The problem, therefore, has not been that I watched videos, but that the sheer volume of consumption has displaced things I could have created or developed myself. Knowledge and inspiration have value, but they often yield the greatest return when put into practice.
My Own Way of Fostering Creativity
I have always been interested in creation. This website gives me an outlet for several of my interests. It serves as a kind of creative experimental space and helps me develop areas I have been engaged in for a long time.
1. Design – I have been drawing and painting my whole life and have completed a couple of formal education programs. I started with web design in 1998 and am self-taught in that area.
2. Writing – Since childhood, I have enjoyed expressing myself in writing, and that interest has grown over the years.
3. Coding – I am not an advanced web developer, but I enjoy diving into HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
4. Photography – A major interest that grew when I moved to Thailand, which I have now returned to to some extent.
5. Marketing – Although the website is not a commercial project, I still want to reach a wider audience.
A Lifelong Process
Creativity is not only about ideas, but about continuing to work with them when it stops being easy. That is where the difference between consumption and creation becomes most evident.
It is easy to fill time. It is harder to use it for something that actually grows over time. And perhaps that is precisely why creativity is not just another hobby, but a way of relating to how we live our days.
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