bassmagazine.com ; ISSUE 4 ; BASS MAGAZINE 105
Bass magazine
Contributing Editor
Jonathan Herrera is
Bass Player's former
Editor-in-Chief. An
accomplished player,
Jonathan has been
a full-time musician
and producer since- His latest
endeavor is Bay Area
recording studio
Dime Studios. Catch
up with him at
jonherrera.com and at
thedimestudios.com.
All You Need Is Likes
The Inquirer | By Jonathan Herrera
S
ocial media is a contemptible scourge
on society — a for-profit cancer feeding
off our collective narcissism and thirst
for public approval, eviscerating privacy and
delegitimizing truth itself as it metastasizes
through the lifeblood of public discourse. It’s
also entertaining, informative, and my go-to
source for basketball highlights and cool vid-
eos about space. As with all endeavors great
and small, the bass enjoys its own vibrant so-
cial media ecosystem, and while my age and
personal proclivities seem to get in the way
of my being a notable participant in it, I’m
also no dilletante. I lurk, I scroll, I see what
you kids are up to! And while there are many
bass-related social media phenomena that
inspire and amaze me (I’m looking at you,
Adam Neely), there’s also a lot that confus-
es, discourages, and otherwise negatively ac-
tivates me.
As social media become a ubiquitous fea-
ture of modern life, I’ve noticed that many
friends, acquaintances, and colleagues have
decided to reconsider their relationship to
social media. Some have quit it outright; oth-
ers limit their use to just one social network;
some schedule a limited period of time each
day or week. I’m in the midst of my own sim-
mering sense that something in my use needs
to change, but I’m not sure what.
Social media has a lot of costs, but to me,
th e biggest is that it’s superfood for an inferi-
ority complex. Humans are social creatures,
and playing music is a social exercise — oth-
erwise we’d all be satisfied ’shedding alone at
home for our whole lives. Social media toys
with our native compulsion to analyze our
place in the social order. Each of us active in
a music scene knows well the nagging pull of
insecurity, the ongoing quest to ensure werank highly in the hierarchy of esteem among
our fellow musicians. Rather than deny this
inexorable truth, we hopefully learn to lever-
age it as a motivational tool. Healthy compe-
tition, even when it’s private and informal, is
one of many ways to push through challenges
and stay focused. Social media can hijack this
instinct, though, overwhelming the balance
we strike between productive insecurity and
crippling self-doubt.
I’m not the first to say this, obviously,
but it bears repeating: for most people, so-
cial media is a personal highlight reel. We all
know those people that tediously overshare
their life’s every detail, but most of us spend
our social capital carefully, publicly revealing
what we consider our best stuff. In this way,
social media is an illusion. But it’s an illusion
with real impact. As much as we know that
it’s not a full picture, we can’t help but some-
times look at the exploits of our musical as-
sociates with envy and pique. This distorted
picture of the musical landscape can corrupt
our self-image, and the attendant discour-
agement, resentment, and depression has
impactful consequences on our musical lives.
While social media can be corrosive, it’s
also obviously a transformational tool for
self-promotion, education, and community
building. It’s for these reasons that I think
many musicians feel obligated to be involved
in it somehow, despite its many costs. How,
then, can we capitalize on its profound pow-
er while blocking its darker implications? I’m
trying to figure that out, but I need help (as
I’m sure we all do). Email me at jon.herrera
@gmail.com with your thoughts on how to
make social media a healthy and productive
part of your musical life; I’ll include some of
the best ideas in an upcoming installment. l