27 Aug Are We So Desperate to Invent Superhumans?
The obsession with prodigies
Are we so unhappy with our own lives that we cling to every new viral sensation? A seven-year-old photographer. A three-year-old painter. A twelve-year-old singer.
The internet goes wild.
“Oh my God, he’s the next Picasso!”
But if every child who holds a brush is “the next Picasso,” what does that say about the real one? And what does it say about us?
The danger of lowering standards
I take photos, I write, I create. But I don’t claim to be Ansel Adams or Steinbeck. I know where I stand.
The problem isn’t that kids are talented. The problem is that we’ve blurred the line between good and genius. Every viral sensation erodes our sense of what art really is.
Likes and shares have replaced judgment. Compliments are traded like currency. And mediocrity thrives.
When comparison kills joy
I’m 43. I’m not a millionaire. I’m not a prodigy. I’m just a man doing his work. But how am I supposed to feel when a child goes viral for what looks like a snapshot?
We tell ourselves “Your only competition is you.”
But reality says otherwise: in contests, in jobs, in life, we’re measured against others.
And when false heroes rise, the bar shifts in a way that leaves us invisible.
Photography is dead?
When people say “photography is dead,” maybe what they mean is: we’ve drowned real art in an ocean of likes for average work.
We reward what’s easy to consume, what trends fast, what fits into 15 seconds. And in doing so, we strip meaning away from the very things we once called art.
Finding worth without false idols
Maybe the truth is this: I’m not angry at them. I’m just tired of not being enough.
But if we keep applauding mediocrity, if we keep calling everything genius, we’ll never rise ourselves.
We’ll keep chasing the next viral hero instead of becoming our own.
This reflection is part of my creative journey. I write about photography, self-worth, and the traps of comparison.
👉 This article is a small excerpt from my upcoming photography book. Until it is ready you might want to take a look at the first volume, “More than photography”.